Valley of Second Chances
by M.E. Johnson-McNeil
Summary: Teagan has struck a friendship with a sailor named Willy, who has promised to take her to a new life in beautiful Stardew Valley. She jumps at the chance. But an accident creates a different scenario than what she had had planned for introductions. Will she make it in the Valley despite such a rough start? *Rated M for language, violence, and potential smut*
1. Chapter 1: A Rough Start

***Hello lovelies! I decided to try my hand at writing about my new obsession. I absolutely adore this game as much as I've loved the Harvest Moon games in the past. I needed something a bit lighter to write about than Supernatural and Sherlock, so I picked this. Granted, the beginning is a bit different and I do take a few liberties with how things go, but for the most part, this is about staying true to the characterizations and elaborating on them, giving each character more life than what is already in the game. I hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think! See you in the next chapter!***

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Her eyes never wavered from that small dot on the horizon. When she'd first spotted it, she'd asked Willy what it was. When he'd said that it was her new home, she'd grown excited, her heart racing in her chest at the thought of a new adventure.

 _'And that's what this is,'_ she thought to herself, resting her palms on the railing of the ship, leaning forward slightly in anticipation. _'A new adventure. A new_ life.'

"Hey girl, don't be leaning too far over that railing!" Willy called from the helm. "Don't need you going headfirst into the water, do we?"

Teagan laughed, looking up at Willy, leaning back on the railing. "I don't plan on it. What's it looking like up there Willy?"

"Water's looking quite choppy. There's a storm up ahead."

She frowned, going up to stand next to Willy. "A storm? At the very beginning of spring? That's a bit odd isn't it?"

"It is. But I've seen odder things in my days. An early spring storm isn't the strangest thing in the world. So, how have you liked your trip from Greenhaven to Pelican Town?"

"Interesting," she answered, looking over at the old man. "I'm glad you took me aboard. You've shared so many stories of this place, but I didn't think you'd take me along."

Willy shrugged. "You seemed eager to leave. Why would I deny someone a new start at life? Plus your parents-"

"Are who they are," Teagan said, cutting Willy off, greenish-blue eyes staring once again at the approaching land mass and the storm. "And I am who I am."

"You shouldn't be ashamed of that Teagan," Willy's voice was soft. "You're a beautiful young woman who's ready to spread her wings. There's no need to be ashamed."

"I'm not ashamed," she said defensively. "I've never been ashamed of who I am as a person! I just…don't know what my destiny is. And this is my chance at finding out."

Willy nodded. "I didn't know what my destiny was either little one. But I found it on the sea, fishing from its bounty, traveling the world in this ship of mine. You'll find yours too. Pelican Valley is good at doing that."

Teagan began to braid her ash blonde hair, leaning up against the railing once more. "Tell me about the people, the ones you think I'll like."

Willy smiled, focusing on the wheel and the waves as he pondered her question. "You? You're a hard one to befriend. Or so I've seen anyway. I think you'll get along well with Robin and Linus. Lewis too. And you'll definitely get along with Maru. Smart as a whip that one and stubborn too. Hmmm…who else?"

"Any…any bachelors?"

"Looking for love are we little miss?" Willy teased and Teagan rolled her eyes, blushing.

"Oh, forget I asked old man."

The sailor let out a hearty laugh, tossing his head back to share his laughter with the darkening sky. "Ah, young folk and their love. Let's see…there's Alex, the jock who thinks he'll be a football star."

"Definitely not my type."

"There's Sam and Sebastian. Sam is a good kid. Really friendly, into music. Got into trouble when he was younger, but walks the straight and narrow now for the most part. He's Jodi's oldest son. Sam also has a younger brother named Vincent. Good little family. Dad's away. Military or something. Should be coming home soon though."

Teagan shrugged. "What about Sebastian?"

He grimaced. "I don't think you'd care much for him. He's not very sociable. He's Robin's son, Maru's half brother. He tends to keep to himself. Don't really know much about him honestly. Oh. Then there's Shane. Don't know much about him either."

"Aren't there anymore guys in Pelican Town?"

"Well, there's Elliott. He's a writer. Lives on the beach in a shack. We're actually pretty good friends. And then you've got Doctor Harvey. Bit of a nervous fellow, but he's very kind. I think you'd get along with both of them. I do anyway."

Teagan nodded, getting up from the railing. "Water's getting rougher now. You need some help?"

"Probably will once we get closer to the dock. I'll need someone to help me tie off. You think you can do that?"

"Of course. We've been out on this ocean for damn near a month. You think I don't know how to tie every knot with my eyes closed and help you with this ship?"

"You've never had to do it in a storm though…"

She shrugged, going to the bow. "I've got this Willy. You don't need to worry about me."

Teagan prepped the ropes, tying them into knots so that she could tie off to the dock with ease. The rain began in small droplets at first, but then it began to pour. Soon it was too difficult to see more than five feet in front of them. Teagan grabbed her rain coat, pulling the hood up over her head before going to join Willy.

"Is this normal?" She shouted over the howl of the wind, trying to keep her hood from flying off her head.

"It's a heck of a storm, that's for sure," Willy shouted back. "I can see the dock now. That rope ready?"

"Yes, I prepared it myself. What else will you need?"

"When we get close to the dock, I'll need you to jump onto it and tie off the ship. Pull as tight as you can to bring her in."

Teagan nodded, muttering to herself, "This should be an interesting time."

A wave crashed across the deck and both Willy and Teagan staggered at the force. Teagan shuddered at the cold and the strength of the water. She'd hate to be at the mercy of it for any reason. They were pulling closer and she could see a light on at the beach, a figure standing in the window watching.

"Who's that?"

"Elliott!" Willy replied. "Hopefully he'll come out and help us with tying off. Go and get that rope girl and get ready! And be careful! The sea's rough."

She jumped down the stairs, moving quickly to the bow, grabbing up the rope that she'd been tying before they'd hit the storm. They drew closer and Teagan bit her lip, judging the distance from the ship to the dock. Looking at the waves and feeling the wind, she saw her chance, making the leap.

Teagan landed cat-like, turning to tie the ropes to the bollards. She secured three of them, looking up at Willy, who was giving her a thumbs up. The girl grinned to herself, bracing herself against the waves when they came. She finally finished, standing up straight to give Willy a thumb's up back. He hollered something at her, but before she could try to figure out what he was saying, a wave slammed into her from the side, sending her skidding across the dock.

She struggled to catch herself as she was swept away by the powerful wave and Teagan nearly managed it, her hand catching one of the boards. But it broke away and she tumbled over the edge of the dock and into the rough waters below.

Immediately she was stripping out of her rain coat, knowing that the extra fabric would tangle her up and inhibit her motions. The water helped her by ripping it away, but it also dragged her down with it. Teagan kicked hard, refusing to give into the panic that was gripping her heart. She had to make it to the surface.

 _'No, I_ will _make it to the surface.'_

With that thought she pulled hard with her arms, kicking with all her might. Her head broke the surface and she saw Willy standing on the dock, throwing a life ring towards her. As she reached for it, another wave slammed her forward, straight into the pillars for the dock.

The pain was intense as she slammed torso first into it. She felt the bite of shells, as well as a sharp pain in her rib cage. Her vision blurred and she began to sink below the waves, allowing the water to take her. But her lungs began to burn and her survival instinct kicked in. Teagan knew that all she had to do was make it to the beach. Make it to the beach and she would be fine. She fought the grips of unconsciousness, barely aware that her head had broken the surface until she took a deep gasp of air.

The young woman managed to get her bearings and, riding a wave, headed in the direction of the beach.

* * *

"Elliott! Do you see her?!" Willy shouted, scanning the water for any sign of Teagan.

"No!" Elliott was thigh deep in the water despite the cold, searching for the young woman. "Where did she go?"

"She got swept under the dock. I thought I saw her come up, but…" Willy began to choke up, but forced his emotions back, knowing that panicking would get them nowhere.

They scanned the waters, trying to look for any sign of life. Willy's heart skipped a beat when he saw a flicker of Teagan's petite form floating face down just below the surface not ten feet from Elliott.

"There! Quick! Grab her before the sea pulls her out!"

Elliott scrambled and Willy rushed off the dock, jumping down onto the sand, running towards Teagan's lifeless body as Elliott dragged her from the water. Elliott flipped her over, revealing her blue lips and deathly pale skin. Water poured from her lips and Willy knew that they only had a few minutes before Teagan wouldn't make it.

"Grab her and let's go!"

"She's not breathing."

"I know that!" Willy snapped, grabbing Teagan's arms. "Grab her legs and help me get her to Harvey's. He's the only one that can save her now."

* * *

Harvey stood behind the counter, drumming his fingers. He hated storms. And he hated being stuck in the clinic all day. Maru had finished filing for the day and he had finished cataloging all the medicines on-hand, making note of anything that needed to be replenished. The doctor sighed as he glanced outside at the storm.

"I can't believe it. A storm this bad and it's only the first day of Spring! I hope the whole season isn't like this."

"I doubt it," Maru replied, not looking up from the watch she was working on for Gus. "You know we get these freak storms every once in a while."

"I know," Harvey grumbled. "I just-"

"Didn't get your daily walk that you normally take. I know. It makes you cranky when you don't." Maru smiled up at him, trying to contain her laughter from the look of surprise on Harvey's face. "You forget that I've been working with you for a while now."

"Right. I forgot. I-" Harvey froze as he saw two figures making a beeline straight for his clinic. "Maru, go and prep the main exam room."

She sat up straight, immediately hearing the urgency in Harvey's voice. "What else do you need?"

"More than likely I'll need some towels and blankets, an IV bag, and you may want to grab the defibrillator."

At that word, Maru was on her feet, running towards the back. Harvey threw open the door for Willy and Elliott, taking in the scene quickly. "What happened?"

"Teagan got swept off the dock into the water," Willy growled, carrying her body to the back room.

"How long has she been down? And what is the blood from?" Harvey was grabbing for the girl's wrist, his own heart skipping a beat when he found nothing there.

"Took us three minutes or so to find her, another two to get her here. And she slammed into one of the pillars."

"You two, I need you to go and wait in the other room," Harvey ordered, tilting the young woman's head back, listening for breathing and hearing nothing. "I won't tell you again."

The two men left the room and Harvey knew the woman needed oxygen. He didn't have time for a bag or a mask. He pinched her nose, taking a deep breath before breathing for her. He watched as her chest rose and as it fell, water bubbled up from between her lips. The doctor turned her head away, wiping at the water, listening to it fall to the floor in a puddle.

"Maru, I need that bag!" He shouted, breathing again for Teagan, watching again as her chest rose and fell, water bubbling up.

He lowered the table, placing his hands in the center of her chest, beginning compressions. Maru appeared with a bag-valve mask, as well as the EKG and the defibrillator. "What do you need me to do?"

"Prep the lead, get me a rhythm reading," Harvey replied, counting under his breath as he turned his attention back to compressions. "One and two and three and four and five and- that's it, atta girl Maru. You're doing very well."

His assistant looked very pale as she placed the leads around Harvey's hands, turning the machine on, looking at the monitor as it read asystole all the way. Harvey could see the tears in her eyes and he looked up at her over his glasses, continuing compressions.

"You can cry after we get her back, alright? This town hasn't had a death in four years and I don't intend to have one today. Got the mask ready?" Maru nodded, holding it timidly. "Good. Prep it like I showed you in practice. When I tell you to breathe, you be ready, alright?"

It took twenty-two rounds of compressions, seven shocks, and two rounds of epinephrine to get a pulse. Harvey looked up at Maru as the normal rhythm scrolled across the screen. His chest was heaving and there was sweat on his brow.

"How do you feel?"

Maru burst into tears and Harvey nodded. "Yeah, I know that feeling. I've got her from here. You go and clean up. When you're feeling better come and join me again. I'm going to get an x-ray and make sure she stays stable. It'll be okay."

Maru nodded and as she walked out, Harvey could hear her sobbing in the other room. He knew it was a shock to her. She'd never seen anything worse than a few cuts and bruises or a case of the flu. Harvey sat down for a moment, watching the monitor in case the woman's vitals tanked again.

He watched in amazement as she stirred, eyes fluttering open, looking around wildly.

"Hey, hey it's okay," Harvey said softly, brushing the hair from her forehead. "Can you hear me?"

"Where…am I?" She asked, her piercing blue-green eyes focusing on him. "Who are you? Willy. Is Willy…?"

"You're at the hospital," the doctor answered quickly, watching as her heart rate spiked. "My name is Doctor Harvey. You were in a bad accident. Do you remember what happened?"

"What…happened…" she mumbled, eyes drifting closed. "Name…Teagan…"

"I know," Harvey murmured. "Willy told me. You're in safe hands. You'll be okay."

He watched as she drifted off into a realm somewhere between sleep and unconsciousness. Getting up from the chair, he began to get to work again.


	2. Chapter 2: Recovery

***Hello lovelies! Well, I've completed chapter two and am halfway through chapter three. I hope you guys are liking it so far. I'm trying to keep it at a reasonably slow pace for right now and trying my best to stay true to the characters. I'm going to get back to writing now. I hope you all enjoy and please let me know what you think, good, bad, or otherwise. I'll see you in the next chapter!***

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

The first thing that Teagan realized when she began to come up out of the depths of unconsciousness was that she was very warm. The second thing that she realized was that her head and body ached horribly, especially when she breathed in. The third and final thing was that she could feel someone's hand on her wrist, no doubt taking her pulse.

A kind voice filled her head, echoing as though in some sort of dream. _'You're at the hospital. My name…Harvey…'_

She couldn't remember much else. The entire thing was a blur. The last thing that she remembered was leaping to the dock to tie the ship off in the storm. Teagan struggled to open her eyes, feeling as though they weighed hundreds of pounds. When she finally managed it, she had to blink several times before her vision would focus.

Standing next to her was no doubt the doctor, checking on her vitals. His face was in profile to her as he checked her pulse, glancing up at the monitor across from him.

 _'Mop of brown hair, brown eyes, more than a bit of stubble with a mustache. He looks very kind. Guess I-'_

He turned to no doubt listen to her lung sounds when he froze, eyes widening at the sight of her awake. He quickly recovered, breaking into a smile. "You're up! I was expecting you to be out for at least another day."

Teagan attempted to sit up, but gasped at the excruciating pain that ripped through her torso. The doctor's hand was gently on her shoulder, forcing her to lay back down again. "It's alright, no need to rush off. Scale of one to ten, how painful was that?"

"Four," she managed to croak out, clearing her throat to try and speak. "What happened?"

"From what Willy and Elliott managed to tell me, you were swept off the dock during that freak storm by a wave. You managed to fight against the current after being slammed into one of the pillars and almost made it to the beach before succumbing to the elements. Elliott pulled you from the water and then he and Willy carried you here. I'm Doctor Harvey by the way. But you can just call me Harvey."

"Teagan," she replied weakly. "My name is Teagan. Tell me, what are my injuries?"

"Well…would you like the good news or the bad?"

"Let's start with the worst," she answered. "It can only go up from there, right?"

He laughed and it made Teagan smile for a moment at the sound of it. "I guess that's one way to look at it, right? Well, you were brought in unconscious, not breathing, no heart rhythm. We performed CPR on you for a good fifteen minutes when you were first brought in. You came back and then about three hours later your vitals began to tank again. That time it took us nearly a half hour to get you back."

Teagan could feel her face pale. "So I was… _dead?"_

"Yes. But you're alive now!" Harvey smiled and that reassured her slightly. "Now we're dealing with three broken ribs, stitches in your right hand, and a tetanus shot update. So it could be much worse."

"Holy hell," she muttered under her breath, her head falling back on the pillow. "Is that all?"

"Well…you've also been unconscious for three days, but that was expected after everything."

"Three days?!" Her heart began to race in her chest and she struggled to sit up again. "Willy must be worried sick about me. Is he alright?"

"He's fine. He hasn't left the clinic since you were brought in," the doctor was doing his best to reassure her, not liking that her pulse had jumped so rapidly. "Relax for me, alright? Let me check you over, make sure everything is working the way it's supposed to and then I'll let Willy back here. Does that sound like a deal?"

"Deal. But I'm holding you to that doctor. I get to see Willy as soon as you're done."

"I am a man of my word," he said solemnly before breaking out in a smile. "Now, we're going to sit you up. Let me know if the pain is unbearable and I'll lay you back down."

"I'll be fine," she said, preparing herself for the pain in her ribs. "Count of three?"

"If you'd like," Harvey said, placing one hand on her shoulder, his other arm slipping underneath her. "One…two…three!"

She hissed as he helped her up and struggled to catch her breath, clamping down on her tongue to keep from crying out. The pain went from a roar to a dull ache and she let out a shaky breath, looking up at Harvey to see the worry in his eyes.

"I'm…fine…" Teagan choked out. "Just a little pain. Nothing I can't handle."

"So I can see." He grabbed the stethoscope from around his neck, putting it in his ears before slipping it under her shirt to listen to her breathing. "Give me as deep a breath as you can before it hurts."

She did as he asked several times before he nodded, wrapping the stethoscope around his neck once more. He took her pulse, looked in her pupils, and checked her bandaging. She winced at how bad the palm of her hand looked.

"What's that from?" Teagan asked curiously as Harvey began to wrap up the angry wound using new bandaging.

"Willy said one of the boards on the dock was ripped off. No doubt you tried to grab it when you were swept away and one of the nails in it sliced your palm open. You're lucky it missed all of the tendons in your hand."

"When can I get the stitches out?"

"Probably another few days," he replied, focusing on bandaging her hand. "So, what brought you here to Pelican Town? And how did you meet Willy?"

Teagan shifted awkwardly in the bed. "I lived in Greenhaven across the sea. Willy stopped in our harbor when he needed a ship repair and came to visit the restaurant where I worked. We became friends very quickly and he told me a bunch of stories about Pelican Town and Stardew. I decided to come and see it for myself."

"So you're here for a visit?"

She shrugged, looking out the window. "We'll see. Who knows, maybe I'll stay."

"You didn't have a plan when you came here?" Harvey looked up at her incredulously and she raised an eyebrow at his question. "Sorry, that…came out wrong. I mean, that's just very brave of you to leave home on a whim with someone you barely knew and start a new life."

"I suppose it was. But we all need fresh starts sometimes, right?"

"True. It's why I came here in the first place. The city life wasn't for me and this place needed a doctor. I fell in love with the Valley as soon as I moved." He patted her hand as he finished her bandaging. "You ready to see Willy?"

She nodded, breaking into a smile. "Yes please. I'm sure he's worried sick."

He got up from her bedside, walking to the door that led into the other room. He said something inaudible and Teagan could hear the rapid footsteps. Willy burst in, taking his hat off as he approached. His blue eyes seemed fearful and she could see the tears in them. Teagan looked over his shoulder to see Harvey standing in the doorway, watching the two of them.

He caught her gaze and blushed gently, walking out to what was no doubt the reception area, closing the door behind him. Teagan turned her attention to Willy who was still standing a few feet from her bedside, now looking down at the floor.

"You know there's a chair next to the bed for a reason," she said gently, giving him a small smile.

He didn't budge and didn't look up at her. "How are you feeling Tee?"

"I'm in pain, but I'm alive. I heard that I have you and Elliott to thank for saving me."

"Well, Doc Harvey helped with that too. He did most of the hard work." Willy still refused to look up at her. "I…Tee, I'm…"

"It's okay. Willy, look at me. Please." He looked up at her and she watched as the tears streamed down his face. "Oh Willy, it's okay."

"No it's not, it's my fault," the sailor sobbed, crinkling his hat up in his hands. "I nearly got you killed Teagan. You could have died!"

"But I didn't," she reassured him. "Please come here. I'd get up out of the bed and hug you, but the doctor would probably have a fit. Please."

He approached her and she pulled him in for a hug as he cried, ignoring the pain in her ribs. She did her best to sooth him, reassuring him that it wasn't his fault, that it would have happened either way. He finally stopped crying, leaning back and wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Sorry you had to see that little one," he choked out. "I'm not normally this emotional."

"It's alright. I understand. If the roles were switched and it was you who'd been swept into the water, I'd probably be upset as well." She gestured for him to sit in the chair. "Sit down and talk to me a while. Tell me what it's like outside."

"Why don't I do this instead?" He walked to the window, opening it.

Teagan smiled as a light breeze rolled in, the scent of daffodils and lilac coming with it. She could feel the warmth of spring on the breeze and her heart skipped a beat at how beautiful it was. She looked at Willy thankfully.

"That was a much better idea. You're a genius Willy."

He gave her a watery smile. "No problem. You deserved something nice after your ordeal. What are you planning on doing once they let you out of this place? It's not like you can wander the valley like you wanted to."

The young woman frowned. "You're right. I can't. I...well, I guess I could rent a room somewhere for a bit until I can move around."

"Why don't you stay with me?" He asked, sitting in the chair next to her bedside.

"You'd be okay with that?" She asked dubiously. "You told me you prefer your solitude back in Greenhaven."

"And I do. But I also know that you have no place to go."

"Willy, if this is because you feel guilty I-"

He raised a hand, halting her thoughts in their tracks. "I feel guilty, yes. But I was going to ask if you wanted to stay with me for a while anyway so you could save up money to go travelling. Plus I need some help around the bait shop. Should be easy enough for you with your broken ribs and everything."

She smiled. "Of course I'll help you. If you're sure?"

"Absolutely positive. I've already made up my mind. I'm glad you're alright Tee."

Teagan looked out the window, staring out at the green grass, the blooming flowers, and the sunshine. "I am too...I am too."

* * *

"Good morning Teagan. How's my favorite patient feeling this morning?" Harvey asked as he walked in the door.

"I'm your only patient," she said with a small smile. "I'm sore, tired, and definitely ready to be out of here. You said I can leave today, correct?"

"Depending on how everything looks, yes. Scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?"

"Negative five. Can I go now?"

Harvey chuckled, pressing on her ribs gently, watching as she winced in pain. "It's not good to lie to the doctor Teagan. Seriously, scale of one to ten?"

"Before you poked it? It was about a two. Now that you touched it it's about a four." Teagan growled through gritted teeth. "Please, I've been here for nearly ten days now. I'm feeling much better."

"Well, how about this. I'll make you a deal. I'll let you out of here today on three conditions."

She sighed, having learned during her stay that Harvey was a stickler for conditions. "Name them then."

"One, you let me take the stitches out of your hand."

"Done."

"Two, you promise to take it easy and not do any manual labor for the next week or so."

"Fine," Teagan grumbled. "What's the third condition?"

"You come and visit me twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays for the next month so I can check on your healing process."

"Alright, alright. If it means I can get out of here today I'll do it." Teagan swung her hand up onto the railing. "Can we take these stitches out now?"

"Of course." Harvey sat down next to her, unwrapping the bandaging on her hand. "So, has anyone told you about the festival in two days?"

Teagan shook her head. "A festival? What for?"

"It's called the Egg Festival. I'm surprised Willy didn't mention it. You can't participate in the egg hunt due to your ribs, but it would probably be a good idea to go so you can meet the villagers." He pulled the gauze off, inspecting the wound. "Wow, you heal fairly quickly, don't you?"

Shrugging, Teagan said, "I suppose I do. It has always been a talent of mine. So, what goes on at this Egg Festival?"

"Well, there's always a lot of food there, all made of eggs of course. Gus is a heck of a cook. And there's the egg hunt like I mentioned. There's people and flowers and all sorts of different things. I think you'd like it."

Teagan smiled gently at him. "Will you be there?"

"Oh, well, ummm…yeah I'll be there. Social events are not my forte, but I was invited to come. And as town doctor I need to make sure that everyone is alright."

"So you never stop working, huh?"

He began to cut her stitches, holding her hand open with one of his, the other wielding the scissors. "Well, I have my assistant Maru. So sometimes I do get at least a half day off. And when I don't have a patient that needs my attention, we're normally open from nine to three, with me taking the first half of the day and Maru taking the second half."

"You don't get emergencies very often, do you?" She watched with interest as Harvey pulled the stitches out one by one. "I'm sorry if I've kept you from relaxing."

"Actually, if you don't mind my saying it, I've enjoyed the challenge of having you as a patient. Normally I'm getting yearly check-ups and the common cold. The worst thing I've seen has been a case of pneumonia. Well, that and Grandpa dying."

Teagan looked at him curiously. "Who's Grandpa?"

"Grandpa was this old man that owned the farm near Marnie's. He used to tell me that he had no family, no one to leave the farm to. He always asked me if I would want it, but I told him I was better at being a doctor than a farmer." He squirted some saline solution on her hand to clean it. "But, you're all finished. Willy is waiting in the other room to take you to the shop. I'll see you at the Egg Festival?"

Teagan nodded. "I'll be there as long as you and Willy go."

Harvey offered her his hand. "Come on, let's get you out of bed then. Do you think you can dress yourself or would you like me to fetch Maru?"

"I can dress myself. Where did you get clothes from?"

"Willy brought them. Said he got them from your rucksack."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm glad he remembered." She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, standing slowly with Harvey's help. "Thank you for everything you've done Doctor Harvey."

He blushed, looking down at his feet. "It's…ummm, it's no problem. All part of my job."

"Well you're a really good doctor," Teagan replied, blushing herself. "Anyway, let me get dressed. Would you mind telling Willy that I'll be out shortly?"

"Of course." With that, Harvey disappeared into the other room.

Teagan struggled to change, but she managed to get herself into her blue jeans and a green plaid shirt. It had hurt to pull the shirt on, but she'd dealt with the pain and tried to keep her whimpering to a minimum. She tugged her boots on, but found herself unable to lace them, the bending too painful for her.

She clomped out into the waiting room to see Harvey and Willy talking. She stands there, smiling at the two of them. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"

"Need to tie your shoes first Tee," Willy said. "You want me to get 'em?"

Before she could reply, Harvey was kneeling in front of her, tying her boots quickly. He stood up, smiling at her. "Glad to see you managed to dress yourself."

"Yeah, it was difficult. As you can see, I'm still learning to tie my shoes." Teagan laughed at herself despite the pain, feeling happy for the first time since she'd arrived in Pelican Town. "Well Willy, should we get going?"

"Let's go." He offered her his arm and she gladly accepted it.

"Thank you again Harvey!" She called as they walked out the door.

Teagan winced at the brilliant sunlight, but smiled as her eyes adjusted. "Willy, it's so peaceful here!"

"I told you. Pelican Town is very peaceful. Come on, let's get you to the shop. Would you prefer sleeping on the ship or in the shop?"

"Well, from what you've told me, you have to climb a ladder to get up to the living quarters of the shop. So I'll take the ship. Plus I've gotten comfortable sleeping on the ship in the bunks."

"Sounds like a great plan," he replied.

They continued to walk down the path between houses, heading for a bridge that looked like it opened to the beach. Teagan took in the town as they walked, noting there were many people around. She supposed that she would get to meet them all in a couple days at the Egg Festival.

As they walked onto the beach, she noticed a red headed man walking towards them. She shied away for a moment, going to stand behind Willy. Willy greeted the young man with enthusiasm.

"Elliott! Come to greet Teagan?"

"Ah! So this is the young woman I pulled from the sea? I'm glad to see that you made it to the realm of the living. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Teagan said softly, feeling herself retreating into her shell. "How do you do?"

"I'm doing very well. Will you be staying on the beach long?"

"Until I heal I suppose," she answered, giving Willy's arm a squeeze. "Could we go and sit somewhere? My ribs are starting to hurt."

"Of course. Come swing by the shop later Elliott. We can catch up."

"I will. I've got another chapter or so to write and then I'll stop by. Will you be there Teagan?"

"Probably. I don't know. I may take some of my pain medicine as I need my rest."

"Well, if I don't see you tonight, perhaps I'll see you tomorrow?" Elliott was searching for answers, but Teagan refused to give them to him.

"We'll see. If we don't see each other tomorrow then I'll see you at the Egg Festival. Come on Willy."

They began to walk towards the bait shop when Elliott called, "I'll see you tomorrow Teagan! I hope you feel better!"

They walked onto the dock and Teagan froze when they came across the spot that was missing the board.

' _Willy calls out to her, but she can't make out what she says. A wave slams into her out of nowhere, knocking her_ _down. She reaches for the boards, scrambling to get hold of something,_ anything-'

"Tee? You okay?" Willy sounded concerned and she looked up at him, faking a smile.

"Fine. Just a bit of pain. Can we go sit on the edge of the dock? I'll watch you fish."

The sailor burst into a beaming grin. "You sure? I don't want you to get bored."

"I won't get bored. You forget, I love the sea almost as much as you do."

Willy laughed, grabbing his fishing rod from the wall, throwing out the line expertly. "Well then, take a seat Tee and watch how a master reels in the catches."

Teagan slowly lowered herself down on the edge of the dock, only wincing a couple of times. Her legs swung back and forth as she stared out at the water. Somewhere out there was Greenhaven, where her parents were no doubt searching for her high and low. Or they were too wrapped up in business meetings to even know she was gone. Either way, she didn't care.

' _This is your new home,'_ she thought to herself, watching as the sun began to set on the horizon, turning the sky a beautiful pink and gold, purple hinting at the impending darkness of night. _'Let Greenhaven go. It served it's purpose in your life. This is your new adventure.'_

She smiled to herself, sitting on the dock long after the sun had set and Willy had gone inside to go to bed. The stars twinkled down on her and the moon shone on the water. For the first time in her twenty years of life, she felt free.


	3. Chapter 3: The Egg Festival

***Hello lovelies! So sorry for the delay. My muse escaped me for a bit there, but it decided to slam back into me and I have been writing like a maniac on all of my stories while I have it. I'm already working on chapter four and I'm hoping to have that up within the next couple of days. Feel free to let me know what you all think of this so far. All reviews are welcome. I hope you enjoy and I will see you all in the next chapter!***

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

"Hey Tee, you ready to go?" Willy stood at the entrance to Teagan's quarters on the ship, not wanting to intrude on the young woman's privacy. "We're going to be late for the festival."

Teagan stepped out, her heart racing in her chest, stomach doing somersaults. "I'm nervous. What if they don't like me?"

"Who cares? I like you. Isn't that good enough?" Willy gave her a mischievous smile, blue eyes twinkling. "And _Harvey_ likes you too."

"Oh!" Teagan grabbed the closest thing to her to chuck at him, which happened to be a dish rag she'd been using to dust with. He dodged easily, laughing loudly. "Quit teasing me about him! He's...not my type."

"Yeah, right. Not your type and yet I saw you write and re-write a letter to him yesterday four times thanking him for saving your life. Come on girl, we're going to be late."

Teagan went up the stairs out of the crew's quarters slowly, grumbling about how Willy was wrong. He offered her his arm to lean on and she gladly took it, knowing that the walk to the festival was going to be slow going. She'd spent most of the day before lounging around the shop, helping Willy take inventory, taking breaks as needed.

Elliott had swung by and she'd apologized to him for being rude, explaining that she had been very tired and hadn't felt up to meeting new people. He'd accepted her apology and they'd gotten to talking about a vast number of topics. Teagan had purposely avoided questions about her family though, as that was not something she discussed with any random stranger. She'd been able to tell that he'd noticed, but he'd been a gentleman enough to not say anything.

As they walked up the beach towards the entrance to town, he came strolling up, taking Teagan's other side, giving her a large smile.

"How are you feeling today? Ready to meet the rest of Pelican Town?"

"Sure," she replied, trying to shove the nervousness away and relax. "I'm sure that you all don't get new people here very often."

"No, not at all, especially with the bus broken down and no money to fix it."

Teagan raised an eyebrow. "No money to fix the bus? Well, what's wrong with it?"

"Nobody knows. We can't afford to take it to the mechanic and none of us really know cars that way, especially not something that big," Willy answered as they crossed the bridge.

Teagan frowned. "Isn't Maru mechanically inclined? And how much would it take to repair it?"

"Probably around 50,000G. That's what the one mechanic said that gave us a free estimate." She could hear the sadness in Elliott's voice. "Poor Pam has been torn up since the bus went down. That was her livelihood."

"Who's Pam?"

"You'll meet her in a minute," Willy answered. "But right now, you need to meet Mayor Lewis. He has been asking about you."

They approached an older man in a brown hat with a handlebar mustache. He was deep in conversation with a brunette woman in a green dress. As they approached he broke off the conversation, beaming at the three of them.

"Willy! Elliott! So good of you to join us. And this must be Ms. Teagan that I have heard so much about. I'm Mayor Lewis."

Teagan took his extended hand meekly, shaking it quickly. "Teagan O'Brien. But you can call me either Teagan or Tee."

"Oh, how rude of me," Mayor Lewis said as his friend cleared her throat. "Teagan, this is Marnie. She runs the ranch here in Pelican Town."

Teagan shook hands, nodding at the woman, who nodded in return. "How do you do?"

"Very well, thank you. Lewis, I'm going to go and find Jas. We'll talk later?"

"Of course. See you in a bit."

The woman walked away and Teagan was more than a bit intrigued as the Mayor's gaze lingered on her. He finally turned back to the three of them. "Elliott, why don't you go and grab us some drinks? We'll find a table to sit and chat at."

The younger man nodded, working his way through the small crowd to get to the table with the food and drinks. Teagan watched for a brief moment before turning her attention back to Mayor Lewis.

"Come, follow me." They walked to a table two rows over, Lewis sitting across from Teagan, Willy sitting on her right. "So, Teagan, what brings you to Pelican Town?"

Teagan felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end and she knew to be cautious with this man. "Willy had told me a lot about this place and I was looking for a new start. He offered to take me with him and I accepted."

"Hmmmm...so that's it? That's the entire story?" Lewis leaned forward in his chair, raising an eyebrow. "Do you work for Joja?"

Teagan's face paled and a sweat broke out on her brow. "N-no sir. Why would you think that?"

Lewis continued to stare at her, making her squirm under his gaze. "Because Joja has been trying to get their slimy hands on this town for months now and I've refused every offer they've given me. I wouldn't put it past them to send someone in to try to undermine me."

"Sir, I can reassure you that I would never do anything like that. I truly wished to come here and start a new life." Teagan looked to Willy for help. "Please, Willy, explain to him that I only wanted a new start."

"What she says is true Lewis," Willy said softly. "I'd wager my entire living that all this girl wants to do is make a new life and help out where she can."

Lewis held Teagan's gaze for a few more moments before leaning back, sighing deeply. "Alright then. I'm taking Willy's word on this. But I'll be watching you while you stay here."

The man rose from the table as Elliott returned and Teagan let out a shaky breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding. Elliott handed her a glass and she gratefully accepted it, taking large gulps of the sweet liquid. When she'd stopped shaking so badly, she set the cup down on the table.

"You alright?" Willy asked gently. "We can go if you'd like."

"I'm fine," she replied, not wanting to let on how shaken she was. "Is he always like that?"

"No, he hasn't been like that before," Willy answered, trying to keep his voice low to keep the conversation between the three of them at the table. "Have you ever seen him like that Elliott?"

Elliott shook his head. "No, never. But he has seemed to be under a lot of stress lately and I've noticed the gentleman from the Joja Mart has been harassing him at all hours. It's quite ridiculous. I've never been a fan of big business, especially not in a small town."

Teagan nodded, feeling a bit better. Elliott and Willy kept talking as she stared into her cup.

' _Could Willy have told him my past and that's why he asked? I left that in Greenhaven and want nothing to do with that stupid company. Should I come clean? Should I tell them? No, they wouldn't take it well and this is a new beginning. You can be anyone you want to be. You-'_

She looked up when someone sat across from her and blushed when she saw Harvey. "Hello doctor. I see you made it."

"I see you did too. Hello Willy. Elliott. How are you all feeling?"

"Very well, thank you. I'll catch up with you both later if that's alright?" Before either Teagan or Willy could reply, Elliott was getting up from the table and leaving them.

Teagan raised an eyebrow. "What in the world was that about?"

"He...doesn't care much for doctors," Harvey answered. "I'd elaborate, but doctor-patient confidentiality is a very real thing. How are you feeling Teagan? Has she been behaving Willy?"

"I only just left," Teagan grumbled. "How much trouble can I possibly get into?"

Willy laughed. "I seem to remember one night back in Greenhaven when you got into a lot of trouble for hustling at darts."

The young woman blushed, looking down at the table. "Someone had to put those great buffoons in their place."

Harvey raised an eyebrow. "You hustled someone?"

"No, they just kept bragging how they were better than everyone in the place where I worked. I decided to prove them wrong as I was on a ten minute break. Bet them all the tip money I had in my apron that I could beat them. They accepted and I won nearly 500G." Teagan smiled into her punch, remembering that night. "They were naturally upset and tried to get me fired, but my boss said that they had accepted the bet and I had been off the clock on a break."

Harvey laughed. "You're full of surprises, aren't you Teagan?"

"I suppose if that's what you'd call them, then yes, I am." She struggled to get up from the table. "So, Willy, who else should I meet while I'm here?"

"Pierre, definitely," he answered. "If you buy anything in this town, buy it from him. And of course his wife Caroline and their daughter Abigail."

She searched the crowd, looking for families. Harvey took her hand, surprising her. "I'll take you to them. If you don't mind that is."

"I don't mind," she murmured, her cheeks turning pink

He helped her up and offered her his arm so she could lean on it. Teagan gratefully accepted, walking slowly beside Harvey as they approached a middle age man with glasses standing next to an older woman with green hair and a young woman about Teagan's age with purple hair and pale skin.

"Doctor Harvey! Haven't seen you in the shop for a while. How have you been?" The man asked, turning to give him a grin before glancing at Teagan. "Who's this? A sibling that you never told us about?"

"I'm-"

"Dad, that's Teagan, the girl I was telling you about this morning," the purple haired girl said before offering her hand to Teagan. "I'm Abigail. Maru told me about you a few days ago. Is it true that you almost drowned?"

Teagan felt a lump form in her throat and she slowly nodded, taking Abigail's hand for a brief moment before letting go. The older woman sighed. "Abigail, that's not polite. Apologize."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that it would make you so uncomfortable." Her eyes darted away to the side and she refused to look Teagan in the eye now. "I'm going to go and find Sebastian. I'll see you at the egg hunt."

Pierre and Caroline watched their daughter walk away, both of them shaking their heads. Caroline finally spoke, saying, "I am so sorry for her. She has a very bad tendency of blurting out the first thing that comes to her mind. We've been trying to work on it."

"It's…it's fine. I seem to have created quite the stir around here. So, you run the general store Pierre?"

"Yes ma'am." His chest swelled with pride. "It's the best store around these parts and better than Joja will ever be. Cheaper as well and better quality. If you need seeds, dry goods, even fruit trees, I carry it. And if I don't, I can probably get it for you fairly quickly."

"Well, I doubt I'll be needing seeds seeing as I'm staying with Willy and it's fairly difficult to grow a garden in sand."

"You never know! I could get some desert plants in and then we'd be getting somewhere. Say, that's not a bad idea! I could try to get my hand on some palm trees and-" Pierre began to walk away and Caroline pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head.

"I apologize for my husband as well. Sometimes he goes off on these tangents and, well, you see what happens."

Teagan laughed. "It's fine. I get the same way sometimes."

"It was very nice to meet you. Teagan, correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Well, I hope you swing by the store. I look forward to seeing you." With that, Caroline left, following after her husband.

Harvey chuckled. "Interesting people, right?"

"Definitely that," Teagan agreed, turning towards the food table to get more punch. "Now who-?"

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as a small, pink haired boy bowled into her, knocking her down. Harvey tried to catch her, but she went down in a tangle of limbs. Teagan clamped down on a howl of pain, instead holding her breath to try to keep from crying out. The boy scrambled to get up and Teagan laid there as still as she possible could, trying to figure out what hurt the worst.

Harvey's face appeared in her vision, offering her a hand. She took it and he helped her to her feet, worry on his face. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," she replied, voice tight with pain. "Just…fine. Is the boy okay?"

"I'm okay. I-"

"VINCENT!" A brunette woman came striding through the small crowd that had gathered, snatching the boy by the arm. "I told you not to go running around!"

"I'm sorry Mama, I just wanted to catch up with Jas. I didn't mean to run into anybody."

The woman glared down at him before looking up at Teagan. "Are you alright? I apologize if my son hurt you."

"It's fine. No harm done, I promise." Teagan lied quickly, not wanting the boy to get into any more trouble. "I'm Teagan by the way, the new resident here in Pelican Town."

"You're the lady that fell in the water!" Vincent exclaimed.

Teagan bit back a sigh, realizing that her near death was probably what she was going to be known for during her stay. "Yep, that's me. What's your name?"

"Vincent," he said, turning shy.

"Go on and find Jas. We'll talk about this later." The pink haired boy ran through the crowd once more and his mother sighed.

"I'm sorry about him. He's always so excited to go out to these events. I tell him to be careful, but you know how kids are. Are you okay?"

"Really, I'm fine. I promise." Teagan gave the woman a small smile as she tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "What's your name?"

"Oh! How rude of me! I'm Jodi. I'm Vincent and Sam's mom. I'd introduce you to Kent, but he's serving in the military right now."

"Is he fighting in the war?" Teagan asked softly, not wanting to pry but unable to stop herself from asking.

"Yes," she replied, looking down at the ground. "If you'll excuse me."

Teagan watched as she walked off and silently kicked herself for asking that question. She'd known it was wrong before it had even come from her mouth. Teagan sighed, making a mental note to apologize to the woman. She looked at Harvey, giving him a grin.

"So, how about some more punch?"

"Sounds good to me."

They walked to the table with the punch and as they stood there chatting, more people began approaching, trying to make conversation. There were so many to meet. Her mind was filled with about a dozen different names when Mayor Lewis made the announcement for the egg hunt. Harvey helped Teagan over to a table as the kids and young adults crowded around the mayor.

"Now it's time for Pelican Town's annual egg hunt! It's the usual rules, whoever finds the most eggs wins! Last year it went to Abigail. Who thinks that they can beat her?" Vincent's hand shot up into the air and the mayor laughed heartily. "Well then, with that it's on your mark! Get set! GO!"

Everyone hunting for eggs took off running and Teagan couldn't help but chuckle. "So this is a yearly thing for you all?"

"Yeah, it's held every year. Abigail has won for the past six or seven of them." Harvey watched as they all ran around, shoving each other out of the way. "I'm glad I brought some bandages. I have no doubt there'll be a few skinned knees."

"Hazard of egg hunts unfortunately." Teagan took a sip of her punch, freezing for a moment when she spotted an old man standing under a tree by the food table, looking very uncomfortable. "Who is that?"

Harvey turned in his seat to look. "Oh, that's Linus. He's sort of our local homeless man. He showed up one day, asked Lewis if he could set up overlooking the mines, and has been there ever since. I…don't really know much about him."

"Hmmmm…he looks lonely."

"He doesn't really talk to anyone," Willy said as he approached their table, having broken away from Elliott and the red-headed girl whose name Teagan had forgotten. "Keeps to himself for the most part, especially after Sebastian and Sam destroyed his tent."

"Destroyed it?" Teagan asked with a frown. "Why would they do that? It doesn't seem like he'd hurt anyone."

Willy shrugged. "Who knows. Kids will be kids I suppose. "

Teagan shoved back from the table, getting to her feet despite the pain. "I'm going to go and talk to him."

"Go ahead," Willy replied, taking a sip from his glass. "But don't expect him to say much."

As she began to walk away, Harvey grabbed her arm. "Do you want me to go with you?"

Teagan shook her head. "If he's as shy as everyone says he is, then it'd be better if I went alone."

The young woman walked slowly, making sure to watch out for the kids and young adults running around the square. She grabbed two glasses of punch, as well as a small plate of deviled eggs. Teagan began to approach the man, watching as he turned to face her, shifting uncomfortably.

"Hello there. I saw you standing here by yourself and I…uh, well I thought I'd come and say hello seeing as I'm meeting everyone today. I'm Teagan."

"Linus," the man said gruffly.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Linus." Teagan held out a cup of punch to the man in yellow. "I brought you some punch. And some deviled eggs. I didn't know if you liked them, but Gus said they were good. Of course, I think he might be biased seeing as he made most of this food it seems."

The man looked at Teagan suspiciously before taking the cup and plate from her. "Thanks."

"No problem. You just…well, you looked lonely over here. I thought I would introduce myself."

"Why?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Why are you being nice to me?" The man asked and Teagan was taken aback by his question.

"Well…it's the right thing to do. I'm new and you seemed…like you needed a friend," she finished lamely. "I'm sorry, I'll just be going now. It was nice to meet you."

Teagan walked stiffly back to the table where Willy and Harvey were sitting, watching the egg hunt come to a conclusion. She sunk down into her chair, heaving a sigh. "Well, that didn't go well."

"You got him to say more than he has to most of us," Willy said. "Don't take it personal Tee. He's not a sociable person. Hold on, Lewis is about to announce the winner. 100 G says that it's Abigail."

"I'll take that bet," Elliott said, sitting to the left of Willy. "My money is on little Vincent this year. I think he's tired of losing."

"You're on."

The prize went to Abigail and Elliot dejectedly handed the money over to Willy, who laughed at him. "I told you didn't I? Always make a bet you know you can win. Maybe you'll win it back during the Ice Festival."

"Ice Festival?" Teagan asked. "Do you all have a lot of festivals here?"

"Yes, we do," Harvey answered. "There are a lot of them. You can find most of them on the message board by Pierre's. Plus Lewis normally sends out a reminder letter."

"That's nice. We didn't have many festivals in Greenhaven."

"Which ones did you have?" Elliott asked. "I've never been to Greenhaven."

"Oh. Ummm…" Teagan closed her eyes, trying to remember. "I'm…not really sure. There was one in winter with a rather large tree and presents. I only went to it once. My parents weren't very…sociable."

"Weren't?" Harvey asked, brow furrowing. "You mean your parents are dead?"

"Oops!" Teagan blushed. "They aren't very sociable. Sorry, slip of the tongue."

Harvey and Elliott looked curiously at her, but before they could ask any more questions. Willy was getting up, standing next to Teagan. "Don't you have to take your medicine?"

"Right!" She got up as quick as she could manage, wincing. "Well, this has been really fun. I'm glad I got to meet so many people. I'll see you all sometime soon?"

"It's a small town. Plus we are neighbors." Elliott flashed her a smile. "I'll probably stop by tomorrow."

"And you have an appointment with me in a couple of days to see how you're healing," Harvey said, also getting up from the table. "If you have any issues, come back to the clinic. I'll take care of you."

"Thank you. You all have been so kind. Come on Willy, my pain medicine is calling my name."

The duo headed back to the beach, Teagan leaning heavily on Willy by the time they hit the sand. Willy wrapped his arm carefully around her waist, putting her arm around his shoulders. "The little one knocked you down pretty hard didn't he?"

"Yeah. I wasn't trying to let on how much it hurt," Teagan replied through gritted teeth, stumbling for a moment in the sand. "Let's hurry up and get to the ship. I need to lie down."

They made it to the pier and Willy helped her down to the bunk room aboard the ship. She collapsed onto her bunk, hand scrambling for the bottle of pills Harvey had given her. Teagan took two of them before guzzling down water. She drank nearly three quarters of the bottle before taking a breath.

"Thirsty?"

"Very," she replied, laying down in the small bed. "That punch was good, but it feels like I didn't drink anything at all."

"That's why I avoided it. Always makes me feel like I have a horrible case of dry mouth. How are you feeling?"

"I'll be better once the pain medicine kicks in, that's for sure." Teagan looked out the window, seeing the sun lowering on the horizon. "Willy, you didn't tell Lewis about me, did you? About…what I've told you?"

"What? No, I wouldn't tell Lewis anything. Is this about what he said earlier?" Teagan nodded. "Well, he's suspicious of all new comers. Joja Mart is such a horrible place and they're trying to suck the lifeblood out of Pelican Town."

"Sounds about right," Teagan muttered under her breath. "What are they trying to offer him?"

"A lot. Money, retainage of power, a timeshare. Early retirement. You name it, they've offered it. And when he wouldn't take the offers, they began to attack the town by slashing their prices and trying to drive Pierre out of business." Willy sighed. "Always knew that the day would come when big business would prey on our little town. But I think all of us thought that we had more time."

"You do," Teagan replied, eyes narrowing. "I won't let anything happen to Pelican Town, especially where Joja is involved."

"Teagan, you do understand that if anyone figures out who you are, things will not end well, right?"

She nodded slowly, staring up at the underside of the bunk. "I do. You're the only one that knows and I hope to keep it that way for as long as possible."

"Your secret will stay safe with me Tee. You know that. I made you a promise back in Greenhaven and I intend to keep it." He pulled the blanket up over her. "Now, you close your eyes and go to sleep. You need your rest."

He began to leave when Teagan said, "Thank you for taking a chance on me Willy."

Willy turned in the doorway, eyes sparkling in the dying light. "It's no problem. Truly. Go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

He cut the light off and Teagan's eyes began to drift closed. She drifted off to the sound of water lapping at the sides of the ship, the ocean rocking her into dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Farmer Teagan

***Hello lovelies! Let me just say, I really hate giving false promises. I said that I would have this chapter up in a couple of days and it's now, what, six months later? I am truly sorry to you all. I had high hopes that I would be able to finish it faster. I've just been so overly critical of myself lately and couldn't find the energy to finish it. Hopefully this makes it worth it and I am going to try and get a chapter or two done soon, but I make no promises. As always, feel free to leave a review, especially constructive criticism. I hope you enjoy and I will see you all in the next chapter!***

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

"Hello?" Teagan called as she stepped inside the clinic. The front desk was empty, as was the waiting room. "Doctor Harvey, are you here?"

She felt a shiver of unease crawl up her spine as she looked around. She hadn't seen Harvey outside and she had passed Maru on her way in. Maru had told her that Harvey was waiting on her, but the clinic seemed deserted.

"Hello?" Teagan called again. "Is anyone here?"

The door swung open to the back of the clinic and Harvey came out, looking a bit tired. "Hello Teagan. Sorry, I was just reading a couple of medical journals and must have dozed off while waiting for you. I hope you weren't waiting long?"

She shook her head, inwardly relieved that the doctor had come around the corner. "No, not at all. Maru had said you were waiting for me. I'm sorry to keep you like that."

"It's fine," he said with a smile. "Come on back. Its been a couple of weeks. How are you feeling?"

"I've been doing pretty well. Trying to walk every day, regain my strength. I've been taking both the antibiotics and the pain meds as you instructed me to." Teagan followed Harvey into the examination room as she spoke. "Overall, as long as I don't move too much or hit my ribs on anything I'm fine."

"That's wonderful! And how's your hand doing?" He asked, grabbing a clipboard off the counter, motioning for her to sit down on the examination table. "Any numbness, tingling, anything like that?"

Teagan shook her head, wiggling the fingers on the hand that had been cut. "Nope, nothing like that. I've got full use of it back. It's still tender, but I can live with it."

"Fantastic! It seems like you have super healing powers."

She smiled, blushing. "Or I've had the care of a great doctor."

Harvey blushed in return as he rolled his chair in front of her. "Well, thank you for that. That's very kind of you. Now, let's start with your hand."

Wordlessly, she slid her hand palm up into his. He bent the fingers back gently, inspecting the scar where the wound once was. "You definitely have healed up very well! Mind if I listen to your lungs?"

Teagan shook her head. "Not at all. Do whatever you need to do doctor."

"Please, call me Harvey."

"Alright…if you'd like me to. I just…well, I mean, you're a doctor. You worked very hard to earn that title."

"I did work very hard to earn that title. But I also understand that this is a small town and that everyone knows each other on a first name basis. So please, call me Harvey." He put his stethoscope in his ears. "Now, deep breath in for me."

She did as he asked, wincing only slightly when she took too deep of a breath. He nodded, removing the stethoscope and wrapping it once more around his neck. "Everything sounds good. Now, how about the dreams? Have those stopped yet since I gave you the sleeping pills?"

She flushed, looking down at her hands in shame. "Only slightly…it's funny, I can't remember anything when I wake up, but I'm all cold and clammy. I didn't realize that it would shake me up as badly as it has."

Harvey nodded knowingly. "That can happen after traumatic incidents. Post traumatic stress disorder. PTSD as you may know it."

Teagan sighed softly. "I've heard of it but…can it be cured? I'd really…I don't want to keep having these nightmares if it's all the same to you."

"They can fade with time. I can give you a referral to a psychologist if you'd like. Mental health has never really been my specialty." Harvey looked up at her, a frown tugging at the corners of his lips. "Teagan, if you'd like to talk, you can talk. I won't turn you away."

She refused to look up at him. "It's fine. I'll…I'll be fine."

"Teagan…Tee," when he said her nickname, she looked up at him. "Please talk to me. I may not be a psychologist, but I can tell that what happened to you on those docks bothers you."

"It bothers me that I can't remember," Teagan replied, eyes drifting to look out the window. "I wish that I could. The last thing that I can remember is looking up at Willy, him shouting something at me. Then…nothing."

"You did hit your head incredibly hard. Short term amnesia wouldn't be that surprising in a case like yours." Teagan glanced up at him and he patted her on the hand. "It will come back. And when it does, I'll be here to talk."

The young woman smiled. "Thank you, Harvey. You've been so kind to me. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"It's nothing, truly. All part of the job. I-"

"Doctor Harvey?" The doctor and Teagan both froze at the sound of the Mayor's voice. "Are you here?"

"I'm back here with another patient Mayor Lewis. Do you need immediate medical assistance or can you wait for me to finish this appointment?" Harvey called over his shoulder loudly.

"I can wait."

"Perfect," he murmured, looking up at Teagan once more. "Now, where were we?"

"I, erm, I actually believe that we were about finished," she murmured, cursing Lewis in her head for interrupting them. "Perhaps I'll see you on the beach sometime? When you're not busy I mean."

"I wouldn't mind that. Visiting the ocean has actually been known to stabilize one's mood and offer incredible health benefits."

"Sounds like-" Teagan stopped herself before she said, ' _a date'_ , chastising herself for being too hasty. "Sounds like we'll be seeing each other sometime soon then."

He got up from his stool, stepping back to allow Teagan a chance to slip off the examination table. They both walked out in the waiting room to find the Mayor pacing back and forth.

"Lewis, are you alright?" Harvey asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's that farm, Harvey. That farm out there that I can't seem to get rid of. Are you sure your sister wouldn't want it?"

Harvey frowned. "I've told you already, my sister has no interest in being a farmer. Besides, that place has been abandoned for nearly five years. It would take a lot of hard work and determination to get it back up and running. I don't know many people who have that sort of drive."

Lewis grumbled, frowning. "What am I going to do? I can't sell the land. It specifically said in his will that it has to be given to someone seeking a fresh start. I'm at my wits end. I can't deal with that place sitting there, rotting to the ground, on top of Joja trying to rip the town out from under me. I'll have a heart attack from the stress!"

"What are you two talking about?" Teagan asked, her interest piqued. "What farm?"

Lewis glanced up at her, stopping his pacing to look her up and down. "There's a farm west of here, past the bus stop. Do you know where the bus stop is?"

Teagan shook her head. "I've heard people talk about it, but I haven't been able to explore much since I was injured."

"Right. Forgot about that." Lewis took a deep breath before saying, "Well, if you follow the path west, going past the bus stop, there's an overgrown property with a small house on it. It was once a farm that an old friend of mine owned before he passed away."

"And you haven't been able to sell it?"

Lewis sighed. "If you'd been listening, you would have heard the part about his will. I cannot sell the land. It must be given to someone. I've been trying to give this land away to everyone I could think of, but no one who lives in this village wants it."

"Well, what's wrong with it?"

The Mayor cocked his head to the side. "Why do you ask? Are you interested in it?"

Teagan could see Harvey over Lewis' shoulder, shaking his head back and forth. She shrugged. "I might be. I was looking for a new start, although with my ribs still broken, it may prove a little difficult at first."

"I can show it to you if you'd like," Lewis said, eyes sparkling with renewed vigor. "Come on, we can go now."

"Lewis, I hardly think that that's a good idea. She's still recovering and-"

"You can come too then, if you're that worried about her," the Mayor replied, cutting him off. "Lock the doors and come along."

Harvey sighed and Teagan fought back a chuckle at his exasperation. She stepped out of the clinic, watching as Lewis and Harvey followed close behind, Harvey locking the door on his way out.

"This way. Watch your step. I will warn you that the property is quite overgrown. It's going to take a lot of work to repair it, Teagan. Do you think you can handle it?"

"I've never met a challenge that I didn't like," she replied, following Lewis up the path, Harvey sticking close beside her. "When's the last time that anyone was out there?"

"The children play on the land and I know that both Abigail and Linus like to do some foraging from time to time." Lewis glanced over his shoulder at the two of them. "What about you Harvey? When's the last time you were out there?"

"When Grandpa died," he replied. "Haven't stepped foot on that farm since."

"I do remember that you and he were close. Granted, not as close as he and I were. Ah the trouble he and I would get into. Of course, he was the more serious of the two of us."

"You two were friends then?" Teagan asked, taking Harvey's arm for support as her ribs began to ache.

Lewis nodded. "He was one of the first farmers to come to Stardew Valley. We were barely men at the time, both of us fighting for survival out here. He was a huge part of shaping our little town. I miss him terribly…"

"I'm sorry for your loss," Teagan murmured. "I'm certain he was a good man going by how you both speak fondly of him."

"Yes, he was." Lewis stopped in front of an old, dilapidated farmhouse. "This is his old home. Towards the south of the property is a path to Marnie's. To the north will take you to the mountains and up to Robin's. On the western side of the property is part of the river and of course, to the east you head back to town. Care to step inside?"

Teagan nodded, taking the stairs up to the front door, pushing it open with ease. She looked around, frowning.

"I know it's not much, but it could be something. As I said, it will take a lot of work."

"No kidding," Harvey grumbled. "There's at least two inches of dust on everything. You couldn't get Emily or Pam to keep this place clean for twenty G a week?"

Lewis sighed. "I barely have the money for keeping the town up and hosting festivals. I can't afford to hire someone to keep up an abandoned shack."

Teagan grabbed hold of a white sheet covering a piece of furniture, revealing an old TV. "Well, it's not so bad. At least there's television."

"So you'll take it?" Lewis asked excitedly.

Teagan raised a hand. "I didn't say that. I've been helping Willy with the bait shop and I don't want to just leave him without any help. Let me speak with him first. Can you wait until tomorrow morning for me to give you an answer?"

Lewis seemed to crumble, his shoulders slumping with defeat. "Yes. Yes, of course. I mean, I've waited this long, I can wait a little longer. I'll be at my home if you need me."

Both Harvey and Teagan watched as Lewis left, shuffling out of the house, leaving them alone in the building. Harvey looked at Teagan with an eyebrow raised and she only shook her head, going to look around the inside of the house.

She tugged at the corner of a sheet covering a rather large piece of furniture. When she couldn't get it to budge, she turned to Harvey. "Do you mind helping me?"

He obliged, but Teagan could tell that he had something on his mind. He pulled the furniture from the wall and Teagan gave it a tug, revealing a bed. She looked at it and she felt a small smile tug at her lips, her heart fluttering in her chest.

"Teagan, are you actually considering this?" Harvey asked, looking at her over the rim of his glasses. "This farm will be a lot of work and there's so much to do."

Teagan broke into a grin. "Maybe I fell in love with this place."

Harvey couldn't help but smile at her in return. "Well, if you fell in love, why don't we get you back to Willy so you can talk to him about it?"

"You don't think this is silly of me?" She asked as they exited the house. "I mean, it isn't too rash of a decision, is it?"

"You came here to start over, right?"

"Well, yes, but I didn't expect to start over as a farmer," Teagan confessed, slipping her arm through Harvey's instinctively as they began walking. "I wanted to go backpacking, explore the world, see everything there was."

"But?"

Teagan glanced over at him. "What makes you think there's a but?"

Harvey shrugged. "There always seems to be one when it comes to things like this. Dreams versus reality."

"You're right." Teagan frowned as she realized the doctor seemed to be able to read her better than she'd anticipated. "I thought you said you weren't a psychologist?"

He chuckled as they walked into the town square. "I'm not. But I've had a few dreams of my own. And all of them had a but attached to them."

"What were yours?"

"I'm sorry?" He asked, looking down at her with confusion.

"What were your dreams?"

The man's eyes seemed to be looking through her as he was carted away to what was no doubt his former aspirations. Teagan tugged at his sleeve and he snapped back. "My dreams? I, uh, I'd rather not discuss it, if that's alright? I don't mean to be rude it's just that…well, they're personal."

Teagan nodded, giving him a gentle smile. "I understand. No worries. I won't push you on it."

Harvey relaxed and they continued walking to the beach. Teagan glanced over at him, catching his gaze as she did. She looked down at her feet, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment. Harvey stopped once more as they walked onto the beach, turning her gently towards him.

"Teagan, I…I hope this isn't being too forward but, would you, I mean, I was wondering if…" He hesitated, staring into her eyes as she looked up at him curiously. "I'm free Saturday if you want to meet up at the Saloon and grab a date. A drink! I meant to say a drink!"

The young woman resisted the urge to chuckle at his slip up. Instead she took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I would be happy to go on a date with you Harvey."

"Really?" His face lit up and she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter again as she watched his eyes glitter in his face. "Perfect! What time would you like to meet?"

"What about-?"

"Teagan!" She fought the urge to groan at the sound of Elliott's voice. "Where have you been? I thought you were going to be back an hour ago. I was worried."

She turned to look at him, giving him a smile. "I'm fine Elliott. Mayor Lewis wanted to show me that old farm out by the bus stop. Apparently he has been trying to get rid of it for a long time."

"So why is the good doctor still with you?" Elliott asked, eyeing Harvey up and down.

"I only wanted to escort her home," Harvey retorted and Teagan watched as he straightened up, staring at Elliott with unwavering brown eyes.

"Well, now you've escorted her." Elliott's response was cool and Teagan could tell that neither of the men were going to back down.

She sighed, stepping between the two of them before slipping her arm into Elliott's. "You can escort me the rest of the way if you'd like, Elliott, that way the good doctor can return to his clinic."

Teagan winced as she saw the look of disappointment flash across Harvey's face. "There's no one at the clinic right now. I don't mind walking you to Willy's, Tee."

"It's fine. I'll see you at the Stardrop Saloon on Saturday. Does six-thirty work for you?"

He gave her a small smile, nodding. "That's perfect. I'll see you there."

Elliott began to pull her away towards Willy's shop. Teagan gave Harvey a small smile and a wave. It made her sad to see him standing there alone at the entrance to the beach. She and Elliott walked in silence until they made it to the dock.

"Elliott, that was quite rude of you," Teagan admonished, keeping her voice soft, placing her hands on her hips. "Doctor Harvey and I were having a good conversation."

He looked embarrassed. "I know, I'm sorry. I was…well, I was worried about you when you didn't come back. And then when you came back with the doctor, I-"

"Why don't you like him?" She asked, refusing to let herself soften at his concern. "I mean, he seems like a very nice gentleman."

"He is! It's nothing against him personally, I…I don't like doctors." Teagan cocked her head to the side, looking at him curiously. "It's a long story. I'd rather not talk about it, if it's all the same to you."

"Alright. But, next time, please be kinder to him. He means no harm."

Elliott nodded, looking down at his feet in shame. "Right. Well, you're safe at Willy's. I will see you around I suppose. Have a wonderful night Ms. Teagan."

She watched as he walked off and she felt bad, knowing that she had hurt his feelings. She pushed it out of her mind, turning to go into the shop. Teagan found Willy behind the counter, whittling away at a piece of drift wood. He broke into a smile as she entered.

"Tee! Where have you been? I was about to send out a search party."

Teagan smiled, sitting down on a stool by the door, leaning up against the wall, resting her head against it. "No need, I survived the doctor. It was my last visit today I think."

Willy also leaned back, pulling his pipe out of his jacket. He lit it, taking a couple of pulls before asking, "What's on your mind Tee?"

She chuckled, her eyes flitting upwards to stare at the ceiling. "You've always been so good at reading me, Willy. How did you know there was something on my mind?"

"I can see it on your face. It's as apparent as a rip current. Spill it, young one. What's bothering you?"

Teagan leaned forward on her stool, gripping the front of it. She looked down, biting her bottom lip, trying to figure out how to say it without hurting Willy's feelings or offending him.

"While I was at the clinic, Mayor Lewis came in."

Willy's gaze went from normally jovial to thunderous very quickly at her words. "What did he say to you Tee? Did he try to confront you again and make false accusations? If he did, I'll-!"

"No, it was nothing like that," Teagan said quickly, trying to head off Willy's temper before he could really get it going. "Actually, he was speaking to Harvey about that old farm."

The fisherman relaxed, taking another pull on his pipe. "I see. So what does that have to do with you?"

"Well…he took me out to see it."

"Oh?"

"And I kind of…I may have fallen in love with it if I'm being honest."

"A farmer, huh?" Willy leaned forward now, pushing his hat back from his face. "What made you want that?"

"Well, it needs a lot of work. And it's pretty far from town. And it's…it's the complete opposite of what I was doing. I know that I can get it up and going again. It'll take a lot of hard work and determination."

"That it will. Plus, there are the monsters at night as well that you'll have to contend with."

"Monsters?" Teagan asked, face paling. "What sort of monsters?"

"That place is wild. I'm sure that there's some wilderness golems, bats, slimes, and goodness knows what else. There's a reason why I tell you not to stray too far at night."

"In Greenhaven, we had a problem with wild dogs and bats. What's a wilderness golem?"

"A monster that lives in tall grass. It's 'bout your height, dark as pitch, and it moves quick. Only way to defeat it is with a sword. I s'pose a scythe would work in a pinch. You still wanna take it?"

Teagan frowned, mulling it over in her mind. Finally, she lifted her gaze to meet Willy's. "Definitely. I'll take on a challenge."

He smiled, taking a long pull from his pipe, blowing smoke rings. "Then I think you need to go and talk to Mayor Lewis."

"What about the shop? I don't want to leave you in a lurch because I feel like gallivanting off to go play farmer."

He waved his hand at her, getting up from his seat, moving to stand in front of her. He placed his hands on her knees, closing the gap between them quickly. They stared at each other and he broke into a smile.

"Tee, this is your chance. It's your new start. Take it while you can and don't worry about an old man like me."

Teagan felt the tears touch her eyes. "Willy, I'm scared."

"I know you are. New beginnings are always terrifying. But I've no doubt that you'll make this work." He lifted her chin so that she was looking him right in the eye. "You're getting ready to spread your wings little one. I want you to experience freedom for the first time in your life. I've helped you break out of the cage, now it's time to take wing. If there is anyone in this world that can bring that farm back to life, it is Teagan Hazel O'Brien."

Tears slipped silently down her face as she took one of Willy's hands, giving it a squeeze. "You've believed in me since day one. I'll never be able to thank you for what you've done."

"Yes you will. By living your life the way that _you_ want to, you thank me for whisking you away from Greenhaven." Willy tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. "I wish that your life had been a bit different to start, but I'm glad that it brought you and me together. You're the daughter I always wanted, Tee. I only want to see the best for you."

With those words, Teagan threw herself into Willy's arms, sobbing. He held her tight, letting her cry into his shoulder, rubbing her back gently to sooth her. The crying finally subsided and Teagan wiped at her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"You must think that I'm an idiot for crying."

"Not at all," Willy murmured. "I think I'd be more worried if you didn't cry, Tee. So, are you going to go and speak to Lewis?"

"Yeah, I am."

Willy gave her a beaming grin. "What are you waiting for then? Go and talk to the man. And if you don't come back tonight, I'll know that you're staying out at the farmhouse."

"I probably will stay out there," Teagan said. "Get a feel for the place. Will you come and visit me tomorrow morning if I do?"

"First thing I'll do after I wake up and get my coffee."

She got up from the stool, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for everything…Dad."

Teagan watched as his eyes welled up with tears. "Now, Teagan, don't go getting an old man's spirits up with empty words."

"Those aren't empty words. You have been more of a Dad to me than my own father. I love you so much. It's so strange, I've only known you for a year, but it feels as if I've known you my entire life." She gave him another peck on the cheek, turning for the door. "I'm holding you to the visit tomorrow. I'll see you bright and early!"

She practically skipped out the door, ignoring the sharp twinge in her rib cage as she took the steps two at a time. Teagan walked at a clipped pace towards town, saying hello to Penny and Sam on the way to the Mayor's house. She arrived at the door, staring at it with uncertainty.

' _What if I fail? What if I'm a miserable farmer? Then I'll be stuck with this place and no way to make money. How will I eat?'_ Teagan slowed her train of thought, taking a deep breath. _'This is your shot. Your chance to do something with your life other than what your parents told you you were going to do. Don't throw it away. If Willy believes you can do it, then you can do it!'_

Grinning with her newfound confidence, she knocked on the door, waiting patiently for the Mayor to answer it. He opened the door, looking down at her. He smiled when he saw her grinning.

"Have you decided to take me up on that offer?" Mayor Lewis asked as he opened the door wider, motioning for her to enter.

"I have."

"And?"

"I'll take it."

He laughed, going to a cabinet, pulling an envelope off one of the shelves. "Well, here you are. Inside is the deed to the farm, as well as a letter from Grandpa. Would you like a drink while you read over it?"

"Do you have any tea?" She asked, taking the letter from Lewis.

The Mayor nodded. "I was actually fixing myself a cup. How do you take yours?"

"Two lumps of sugar is all," Teagan replied, opening the letter, scanning over the deed. "He really has three acres of property? It didn't look that big…"

"Yes, the property is very large. You can't tell because it's so overgrown though. There's a pond on it, I believe, as well as a portion of the river in the southwest corner." Lewis set a cup of tea in front of her. "He had a greenhouse at one point, as well as a small ranch. Of course, you can pick and choose what you'd like to build on the property. Or you could sell it if you want. I'm just glad that it's now out of my hands and not my concern."

She blew on the tea, trying to cool it down before taking a sip. "Mmm, actually, it states here in his will that whoever takes on the property cannot sell it for a minimum of two years after receiving it."

"Well, I guess you'll be here for at least two years then." He took a sip of his tea, wiping at his moustache with a handkerchief. "So, what really brought you here Teagan? You're in good company, I promise."

Teagan looked at him over the will. "I've already told you. I wanted a change of pace. I was a waitress in Greenhaven with no hope of escape. Willy came in one night, told me to pack up whatever I wanted to take with me once my shift was over, and meet him down on the docks. We left at dawn and I put my home behind me."

"Weren't you afraid?" Lewis questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you're what, eighteen? Nineteen?"

"I'll be twenty-one on the twenty-third day of Summer," she said calmly, taking a large gulp of her tea. "And yes, I was terrified. I still am. But you don't get anywhere in this life if you don't take risks."

The mayor nodded. "Perhaps I misjudged you at first. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders Teagan."

"Thank you, Mayor Lewis. I understand that you have a lot of pressure on your shoulders trying to keep Joja from getting the valley. But I promise you this, so long as I am a resident of this town, they will not take it."

The man smiled wide. "If you mean that, then I will definitely call you a friend of the valley. But it's beginning to get late. You should get to the farm before nightfall. Do you need someone to escort you?"

Teagan shook her head, getting up from the table, draining her mug of tea. "No thank you. I can take care of myself. Thank you for the tea. And for the opportunity."

He waved his hand at her. "Think nothing of it. I'm glad to get that place off my hands. Good luck Teagan. And if you should need anything, you know where to find me."

She left the mayor's house, touching the documents in her pocket. She barely noticed her journey down the road, her mind going over the numerous possibilities. Teagan opened the door to the house, taking in the small space.

Taking off her rucksack and placing it in the corner, she began her cleaning by tugging the sheets off the furniture. The young woman folded them neatly, storing them underneath the bed as there was no closet in the house. The sun began to fade on the horizon, sending golden light streaming in through the windows.

Teagan looked outside at the property, peering through the leaves of the trees and the overgrown weeds. Her heart skipped a beat when she thought she saw movement outside in the darkening underbrush. She pulled the curtain over the window, trying to keep the rumors of monsters out of her mind.

To distract her, she turned on the television, listening to the news and the weather. She smiled when she heard that it was going to be a sunny day in the morning and that the spirits were in good humor.

' _No doubt,'_ she thought to herself, getting up from her seat to shut the television off. _'I would say that Fate was in a very good mood today.'_

Teagan got a fire going in the fireplace, trying to ignore the faint sound of scratching against the walls of the house. Comforted by the light of the fire, she pulled the chair back from the table, taking the documentation out of her pocket as she sat down. Teagan opened it up, sprawling it across the table, reading through the notes and ledgers carefully. There was a ledger of what appeared to be the man's last year on the farm before he passed away, an appointment book with dates for the doctor, meetings with the people of the village to say his last good-byes.

In the last page of the documents was a letter as Mayor Lewis had said. Teagan read it slowly, the tears touching her eyes as she finished it.

 _To the new farmer,_

 _If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life... real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong._

 _I've enclosed the deed to that place…my pride and joy: Andromeda Farm. It's the perfect place to start your new life. This was my most precious gift to give and now, whoever you may be, it is all yours._

 _I wish I could have given this to you properly, that we could have broken bread together, spoken for hours about life and farming and finding your happiness here as I did…but cancer has beaten me it seems. I have fought and fought, if only so I could meet you and guide you on this new journey, but my time is drawing to a close. I can feel it in my soul._

 _I am certain, however, that whoever Lewis hands this to, he knows that they need a new start at life. Good luck to you, new farmer. I hope that this place brings you the same peace that it brought to me._

She wiped at her eyes, re-reading the letter. By the man's words alone Teagan could tell that he had been a kind soul. She couldn't understand how he had died alone, but knew now that she would be the one to make it up to him. She would restore the farm to its former glory, even if it killed her.

Teagan rose from the table, locking her door before going to her rucksack, changing into her sleep clothes. She tucked herself into the bed, surprised at how soft the mattress still was. Before drifting off, she placed the letter under her pillow, trying to keep the man who had died alone close to her.


	5. Chapter 5: JojaMart Awakens

***Hello lovelies! I've got a bit of a long chapter for you all so I can hopefully get the next one written and posted by the end of this weekend. I really hope you all are enjoying it so far! I'm definitely enjoying writing it. For you HarveyxFarmer shippers, there's definitely going to be some major cuteness in the next chapter, so rejoice! As always, reviews are welcome as well as constructive criticism. Thank you guys so much and I will see you in the next chapter!***

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Teagan was sipping at her morning tea, watching the news channel, when the knock came at her door. She rose from the table, unlocking the door and opening it to find Willy standing there, hat in his hands.

"Come in Willy!" She was eager to show him all that she'd accomplished that morning. She'd found a small cache of cleaning supplies tucked under the bed and had been putting them to good use. "I've just made some tea if you'd like a cup."

"No thanks. I've already had my coffee for the day," he replied, stepping inside, looking around. "I see you've been busy."

Teagan nodded, beaming at the man. "That I have. I've been up since five. Figured that I would tidy up. I've dusted pretty much everything, rearranged the furniture, and I found Grandpa's old tools in a small cubby behind the outhouse. They're a bit rusty and I'll have to sharpen the edge of the scythe, but they'll do until I can get them upgraded."

"You can do that at Clint's." Willy looked around the place, grabbing a rag to reach the places that Teagan hadn't been able to. "He's the local blacksmith, in-between the library and Joja Mart. You'll have to take the smelted bars to him though. Not sure how to do that. I normally just buy them pre-smelted and take them down there to him when I want a fishing rod upgraded."

"Thanks, I'll definitely keep that in mind." Teagan continued to drink her tea, watching Willy as he cleaned. "What do you think of the place?"

"It's nice. Very quaint. You've already done a great job cleaning it up. And I see you've already moved your journals and furniture in."

Teagan shrugged, glancing at the stack of journals on the table. "The ship was open and while it was difficult getting the stuff here, I figured I need to build up my strength. Plus, you know I can't be too far from my journals. It's how I keep myself organized."

"I know. Listen, Tee, there was something that I wanted to talk to you about."

She cocked her head to one side, raising an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Well, I thought that maybe I'd help you get started out here." He was reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small sack of coin, dropping it onto the table. "I figured that you could use a little help, especially with it being the start of summer."

"Willy, thank you so much, but you didn't have to do that." Teagan shifted uncomfortably, eyes transfixed on the bag. "What about your ship repairs?"

"I've already got the money set aside for that. This is a little extra. It's only 500G, but I figured that it would help you out, that way you don't have to dip into your savings too much."

Teagan gave him a brilliant smile, moving to hug him tight. "Thank you Willy! This was so sweet of you…I'll pay you back, I promise."

"It's fine," he mumbled, kissing the top of her head. "You know I'm not going to let you struggle. Now, there was something else that I was going to talk to you about."

"Alright, what is it?" She asked, stepping back from him. "Nothing's wrong, is it?"

"No, nothing's wrong," he reassured her. "I went and spoke to Harvey this morning."

Her heart began thudding in her chest. "You're sick aren't you?"

"What? No! No, it's nothing like that Tee." Willy took a deep breath. "Look, don't you go getting mad at me for this. But I…I paid off your medical bills with the doctor."

" _What?!"_

"It wasn't all that much and it was my fault you were hurt in the first place."

"Willy, I can't take this money from you now!" Teagan protested, grabbing the money from the table, trying to hand it back. "Now I know you've dipped into your boat repair fund."

"Even if I did do that -which I didn't- I'm not taking that money back. I'm giving it to you Teagan and I don't expect you to pay it back." Willy closed her hand around the money, patting it gently with his own calloused hand. "It's what a father does for his daughter. And I won't hear anything more on this."

"You're impossible." She was trying to scorn him, but found that she couldn't help smiling. "I will pay you back."

"You will and I already told you how you can." Willy glanced at his beaten pocket watch. "It's nearly nine o'clock. Why don't I take you to Pierre's and you can get your first round of seeds?"

"Trying to make sure I don't slip your money into your pocket when you're not looking?"

"Exactly that." Willy chuckled, opening the door for Teagan. "You coming?"

She slipped her boots on, lacing them quickly before walking out the door. "Yep, that I am."

"How are you feeling?" He asked as they began walking, Teagan's empty rucksack bouncing on her back. "Your ribs doing okay?"

"They're fine. It's going to take some time for them to heal. Harvey told me that rib injuries take a while since there's really nothing you can do for them."

"So how did you like your first night? See anything interesting?"

"I thought I saw something moving in the trees," Teagan confessed. "I'm not sure what it was, but it looked human. I also heard something scraping along the outside of the house."

Willy nodded solemnly. "I told you there are things out there after dark. You'd do well to craft some torches today or tonight if you have the chance."

"What do I make them out of?"

"Take some branches from some trees or sticks you find at the farm, then slather some sap all over the end of it. Light it up and you'll have a torch. Or you can make a fire pit."

"I'll start with the torches." Teagan's voice was tight with anxiety. "Anything else you can give me tips on?"

"Always carry your scythe with you, at least until you can find a sword." Willy looked at her as they reached the town. "You know how to use a sword, don't you Tee?"

"Yes, I do." Teagan walked hurriedly towards Pierre's, Willy matching her pace. "Could we please not talk about this anymore? It's making me uncomfortable."

"I know, I'm sorry. I want to make sure you're safe out there and can take care of yourself." Willy leaned up against the notice board, arms crossed across his chest. "I'm proud of you Tee. Even though you've only been doing this less than a day, being a farmer fits you. You look genuinely happy for the first time since we left Greenhaven."

Teagan flashed Willy a grin. "You think so?"

"I know so. Now, go get your seeds and get to planting!"

She gave him a mock salute, chuckling to herself as she walked into Pierre's.

"Well would you look at that! It's farmer Teagan!" Pierre was walking from around the counter, going to shake her hand. "I'd heard that Lewis had given you the old place, but I didn't expect to see you in my shop so soon."

"I need to buy some seeds off you," she replied, heading towards the counter. "What's in season right now?"

"Let's see, it's the beginning of summer, right? You'd do well to get some blueberries, some melons, a few tomato plants. Oh and some corn wouldn't hurt either. That'll grow through the fall." Pierre was rifling through boxes behind the counter before appearing with handfuls of seed packets. "The prices are in the top right corner of each packet. Choose what you want and let me know when you're done."

She spent nearly a half hour reading over the backs of each packet as Pierre tended his store. Finally, Teagan settled on the seeds that she wanted, counting out her money on the counter. It was the last of her savings, plus the money that Willy had given her that morning.

"Alright, let's see…ten packs of blueberries, five packs of melons, three of corn, four hot peppers, and three tomatoes…total is going to be 1,960 gold."

Teagan felt slightly queasy at the idea of handing over that much gold for some seeds, but she shook herself, resisting the urge to walk away from the sale. _'You have to spend money to make money in the self-starter business. And that's what you're doing. So pull yourself together!'_

Pierre counted her money quickly, nodding as he placed it in the drawer. "It was a pleasure doing business with you Teagan. I hope to see you again soon!"

"You probably will. I'll get more corn seeds once I sell this produce here." Teagan put the seed packets in her rucksack. "Thanks again Pierre!"

"No problem. Have a wonderful day!" He called after her as she walked out the door.

Teagan turned her face up towards the sun, smiling as its rays warmed her face. She walked down the road, waving at Jody as she strolled by. Teagan felt as though she were made of air, floating above the road instead of walking on it. Movement caught her eye and she froze in place, thoughts of the creature from the previous night invading her mind.

She caught a flash of yellow going around the bus and decided against her better judgment to follow it. Cautiously, she approached, cursing herself for not bringing any sort of weapon with her. Teagan rounded the corner, preparing herself for a fight.

Instead she found Linus, picking some orange berries. His back was to her and she decided to speak so as not to startle him.

"Hello Linus."

The man jumped, spinning on his heel to stare at her with mistrust. He managed to conquer his surprise, mumbling, "Hello."

"What is that you're picking? I've never seen it before."

"This?" He held out his hand, showing her several orange berries. "They're spice berries. I'm picking them for food."

"That's interesting! Do you forage a lot? What other things can you find in the summer?" Teagan was genuinely intrigued, having never seen anyone foraging for food before. "Can you find different things in the fall or are they all the same?"

"I, uh, I...have we met before?"

"Right, sorry. We've only met once at the Egg Festival." Teagan stretched out her hand to him. "I'm Teagan. I'm the new farmer that took over that plot of land and small cottage."

His eyes were still guarded, but he extended his free hand, shaking hers for a brief moment before withdrawing. "It's nice that someone is working that old farm. I've been foraging on it for a few years. You can find several goodies on it if you look carefully."

"Lewis mentioned something about that." Teagan leaned up against the side of the bus, giving the man a smile. "You're more than welcome to continue foraging there if you'd like."

"Why would you let me?"

"Well, I'm assuming that foraging is a source of food for you. I won't be able to search my property for a bit until I get my crops straight and until then I would hate for it to go to waste." Teagan was surprised by the amount of wariness this man displayed. "As long as you don't mess with my crops, I have no problem with you exploring the property."

He seemed stunned by her words. "Th-that's...that's very kind of you miss. I'm more than happy to forage the forests and the fields. I don't want to disturb you or anything. I-"

Teagan held up her hand, stemming his panicked stammering. "I'm giving you permission. Search my property as you wish, just don't destroy my crops. And please, call me Teagan."

"Yes Miss Teagan. Of course. Well...I'll be going now...got a lot of ground to cover."

With that, the man disappeared into the trees, no doubt searching for more berries and other edible plants. Teagan pushed off from the side of the bus, heading back to her farm. She glanced at her wrist watch, noting that it was nearly noon. Her stomach growled at her and she realized that she hadn't eaten all day.

But Teagan was determined to get her planting and watering for the day done before she partook in any sort of meal. Going to the small cubby where she'd found the tools, she grabbed the tools, strapping the axe to her back, making certain that the cover was on it so that she wouldn't cut her neck.

The other items- aside from the watering can, which she set on her steps- she strapped to the top of her pack. The scythe was the only tool that she left in her hand. She wanted to practice using it before nightfall as well as clear out some of the grass in front of her house. Teagan gave it a test swing, barely wincing as her ribs twinged.

It took her nearly an hour to get the hang of how the scythe worked, but she had a nice patch cleared out, leaving only twigs and rocks behind. Those she made quick work of, alternating between her axe and her pick.

She wiped at her brow, squinting up at the sky, shielding her eyes. "You're not going to let up, are you sunshine?"

Teagan chuckled, pulling the hoe from her pack, beginning the slow process of tilling the earth. As she tilled, she planted the seeds, checking the instructions on the back of the package as she did. Her ribs were aching at this point, every breath in almost unbearable. She paused her work, leaning against the hoe for support.

"Well...that's not...not so bad…" she panted to herself, struggling to stay upright. "I've seen worse. And as soon as you're done watering you can head down to the Saloon and grab a bite to eat."

Teagan found her strength renewed at the thought of food and hobbled to the steps of her house, grabbing the watering can. She filled it from the pond that she'd seen through the trees as she'd been working, finding that it was much heavier than expected. But she toted it to her crops, watering the mounds of freshly turned soil.

She finished the last row, grinning from ear to ear despite the pain. She had done it. Her first crop was in the ground and would soon be sprouting. Teagan limped back to the storage by the outhouse, setting all of the tools inside except for the scythe and the axe. It would be close to dark by the time she returned from the saloon and she hadn't had time to make a torch.

"Where on earth would I get sap from anyway?" She wondered aloud, staring at the pile of sticks she'd placed by her porch. "All of those branches were dry."

' _You could always try chopping down one of the smaller trees,'_ she thought to herself, immediately grabbing the axe from her back. _'You've got enough strength left in you to do it.'_

"I hope you're right," Teagan mumbled under her breath, approaching the small tree closest to the entrance of her farm. "If you're wrong, I'd hate to end up face down with those monsters roaming around. I can picture the headlines on the news now. New farmer survives drowning only to be ripped apart by monsters."

She made quick work of the tree, the axe's edge not as dull as she'd expected. It toppled over and Teagan was surprised to see that there were gooey pockets of sap oozing from the bark. Grabbing four branches, she coated the tips of them in sap. She drove two into the ground in front of her home and one at the path's entrance to her farm. Teagan lit them with her lighter, watching as they flickered to life.

The young woman shoved the fourth one into her pack, leaving it's sticky end protruding out of the top. It would be easy for her to grab and light on the way back to the farm. She began to walk down the path towards town, wiping at her face with a handkerchief in an attempt to get rid of the grime and grit of the day.

Teagan arrived at the Saloon, finding it already alive with people despite it only being five thirty on a Tuesday. She could feel eyes on her, but refused to acknowledge them, instead allowing her growling stomach to lead the way to the bar. She boosted herself up onto one of the stools on the end.

"Excuse me!" She called to the blue haired girl behind the counter, who turned to look at her. "Could I order something to eat?"

"Of course! I haven't seen you in here before. I think you were at the Egg Festival, right?"

Teagan nodded. "Yes ma'am, I was. My name's Teagan."

"Teagan...Teagan...oh! You're the girl who started up at Grandpa's old farm! Lewis was telling us all about it last night. What can I get you?"

She fought the urge to roll her eyes at the idea of her being the topic of discussion. Instead, she ordered her food and drink. Emily happily skipped away, speaking to the man on the other end of the bar, who glanced up at Teagan with mild interest.

"So, Teagan, huh?" The man in the corner of the bar spoke up for the first time. She'd noticed him watching her when she'd entered, but hadn't acknowledged him in any way. "You're the new farmer?"

"I guess I am," she answered, turning in her seat slightly to face him. "Who are you?"

"I'm Shane, Marnie's nephew."

"The rancher, right?"

"Yup."

"Cool. Well, it was nice to-" She tried to hide her irritation as he took the stool next to her. "Can I help you with something? I was about to enjoy a nice meal after a long day of work."

"I know who you are, Teagan O'Brien." He had dropped his voice, leaning in close to her, his breath sour with beer. "What brought you here?"

Teagan's face paled and her stomach began to twist itself in knots. "Wh-what...I don't know what you're talking about. Who are you?"

"I told you, name's Shane." He took a swig of the beer in front of him. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell your parents. But I will tell you to stay as far away from JojaMart as you can. They've plastered your face all over the break rooms. Guess they think you'll be making an appearance in there at some point."

"That's how you know who I am?"

"Yup. Never would have thought you were who you were by looking at you."

Emily approached with Teagan's food and drink, setting it in front of her. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Nope, that's fine." Teagan gave her a weak smile, her appetite having left her at Shane's words. "Thank you, Emily."

"No problem! Holler if you need anything. You doing okay Shane?"

"Just fine, thanks Emily."

The woman walked away and Teagan turned back to Shane, picking at her spaghetti. "Why are you telling me this? No doubt my parents are offering an extraordinary sum of money for my return."

"Half a million gold, plus stock in Joja." Shane took another swig. "Don't think I didn't want to turn you in. I could quit JojaMart, work at Marnie's with not a care in the world. But who I am to determine the fate of another person?"

Teagan's shoulders sagged with relief. "You won't tell anyone in town who I am? I'm trying to keep it from the others."

"I won't breathe a word. But I should warn you, Sam works at there as well. Don't be surprised if he says something. He's a bit oblivious though, so he may not notice." Shane nudged her shoulder with his. "Cheer up a bit. I could have just not told you anything. I mean, you're a stranger to me, why should I care?"

"Thank you," Teagan murmured, trying her best to maintain her composure. "I appreciate the head's up."

Shane slid off the stool. "Hope things get better for you. Good luck farming."

Teagan only nodded in response, turning back to her meal. She forced herself to eat, knowing that if she didn't, she'd be ravenous come morning. The familiar smell of pipe tobacco filled her nose and she turned her head to see Willy standing behind her.

"You're a bit dirty Tee," he said with a chuckle, sliding up into the seat to her left. "Hard day of work?"

"Hard is a bit of an understatement." Teagan motioned to Emily, watching as she came over. "Is it possible to get a box for the spaghetti as well as a few loaves of bread?"

"No problem! I'll be right back!" Emily left her sitting there with Willy.

"What, don't wanna talk to me?"

"I do, but it seems that a problem has come up." Teagan lowered her voice. "My parents have figured out that I'm missing."

Willy let out a low whistle. "That is a bit of a problem. What're you going to do?"

"I'm not sure yet." She glanced over at Shane, who was sulking in the corner now. "That one over there, Shane, he told me that they have a poster of me with a reward on it in the break room of JojaMart. If anyone caught a glimpse of it, they'd know it was me in a heartbeat. And if Lewis catches wind-"

"He'll never trust you again, probably even throw you out of the town." Willy took a gulp of the ale Emily had set in front of him after bringing Teagan her box and bread. "This is serious Tee. You can't even walk in there without being noticed."

"Maybe...unless...I could borrow some of your clothes and go and take the posters down. My idea will need work of course, but that would be the basis of it."

"That's a good plan and should work, so long as you don't get caught. When would you do it?"

"Tomorrow. It's supposed to storm, so I don't have to worry about watering my crops." Teagan mused, thinking to herself. "Yes, this will work. I'll let myself into the shop in the morning, you just leave the clothes and your hat on a stool. I'll go into JojaMart as soon as it opens, rip down the posters, and then sneak back out."

"What if you get caught?"

"I'm not sure...I'll think of something." Teagan glanced at her watch. "I've gotta get going. Thanks Willy. Hopefully this is the last of it and I don't have to deal with them hounding me anymore."

Willy patted her on the shoulder. "I hope so as well. Good luck Tee and be careful."

Teagan grabbed her food, walking out of the saloon. It was barely light out now, the street lamps blinking on as she was halfway through the square. She quickly tucked her food into her rucksack, taking the makeshift torch out. She also unstrapped her scythe, tucking it under her arm as she lit the torch.

It burst into flame and Teagan felt a bit more comfortable in the light of the fire. Picking up the scythe, holding it loosely in her left hand, she continued on towards her farm. She passed by the bus stop, jumping as the fire cast long shadows on the fence posts. She quickened her pace, not wanting to be outside any longer than she had to.

As she entered her land, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Teagan scanned the area, peering at the tall grass, searching for movement. There was a rustling to her left and that was all she needed to get moving.

She sprinted towards the house, hearing what sounded like dead leaves rushing towards her as she ran. Panic set in as she shoved the door open, slamming it shut behind her. The door shuddered as whatever had been trying to chase her slammed into the door. Teagan latched it shut, panting for air, her ribs screaming at her.

"Holy...hell…" Her scythe clattered to the floor as she struggled to catch her breath. "What...what was _that?!"_

When Teagan had managed to get her heart rate under control, she turned to the fire place, tossing her torch into it to get the fire going. It flared high before settling down and the sight of the flames settled her nerves.

Teagan grabbed the scythe from beside the door, setting it next to the fire. Her stomach grumbled with hunger and so she decided to finish off the spaghetti while she wrote in her journal. She chose a dark blue leather bound journal with a feather pressed into the front. Her fingers brushed the empty first page and she smiled, tucking the pen behind her ear.

She began to scribble in the journal beside the fire, her scythe to her left, the box of leftover spaghetti to her right.

* * *

The sound of rain woke Teagan up from her dreams. She let out a soft groan, rolling her neck to try and work out the kinks. She'd somehow fallen asleep in front of the fire, her journal on her lap. Teagan sighed, closing the book before shoving to her feet.

"Oh, fuck me," she grumbled, clutching at her ribs. "That was the worst place for me to sleep."

Teagan brushed her hair, braiding it quickly, using bobby pins to tuck the end back under the braid. She took a couple of bites of the bread she'd gotten the night before, chucking the spaghetti box into the trash.

"I guess you were more tired than hungry. Shame on you for wasting that food," she chided herself, grabbing her things off the floor, setting them on the table. "You wouldn't be so hungry now if you'd eaten more last night."

Teagan caught a glimpse of herself in the window, frowning at her reflection. Even with her hair pinned under the cap, she'd still be noticeable. She glanced around the small house, trying to find anything that would help disguise her a bit better. The soot in the fire place caught her eye and she broke into a grin.

Rummaging around the house, she managed to find an old mason jar tucked inside of the small side table drawer. She unscrewed the lid, scooping some of the ash from the fireplace into the jar. She screwed the lid back on, setting it on the table to finish getting ready.

She fished a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a hooded jacket from her box of clothes in the corner. Teagan changed quickly, grabbing her rucksack, putting the jar inside of it. Glancing at her watch, she smiled. JojaMart would be open in an hour, giving her plenty of time to get to Willy's, change into his clothes over hers, and do her hair. She highly doubted that anyone would be at the store until around noon with the rain.

Taking off out of the house at a clipped pace, making sure to grab her scythe on the way out, she began to head to Willy's. A shiver ran down her spine as the rain hit her skin. For a moment, she was standing on the dock again, looking up at Willy on his ship. She shook herself, limping slightly as her ribs ached.

She passed through town, no one outside of their houses. Teagan crossed the beach, taking the stairs quickly. Her heart raced as she got to the dock and she felt a pang of nausea wash over her as the waves crashed against the dock. A hand touched her shoulder and Teagan let out a yelp of surprise. She whirled on her heel to face the person.

"Easy, Teagan, it's me." Elliott held up his hands in front of him and Teagan realized that she had her fist cocked back. "I saw you going through the rain towards Willy's and I thought I would escort you so you didn't slip on the dock."

"Sorry." Teagan let her hand drop to her side, blushing. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be out in the rain."

"No problem. Again, my apologies for startling you."

"Come on, let's get out of the rain."

They headed into the bait shop, where Willy was standing behind the counter, smoking his pipe. He saw the two of them and smiled for a brief moment. "Look what the wind blew in!"

"Do you have the clothes Willy?" Teagan asked, wanting to get the disguise over and done with.

"They're in the corner Tee, just like you asked. I happened to get up early this morning to help you."

"What are you using his clothes for?" Elliott asked and Teagan resisted the urge to kick herself for exposing her secrets to a complete stranger.

"It's a long story," she confessed, hoping and praying Elliott would leave it at that.

But he didn't. "Well, it seems I have time while you get dressed up in Willy's clothes."

Teagan sighed, looking at Willy for support. He merely gave her a shrug, grabbing the clothes for her. "Elliott…I need you to keep this secret. And I mean keep it until you go to the grave. If it gets out, there are very serious repercussions. The only reason that I'm telling you is because Willy has stated before that you are friends and he trusts you."

"Of course! Anything you say stays between you and I. I'm assuming that Willy knows?"

She nodded, taking the jar out of her pack, setting it on the counter before shrugging into the button down shirt Willy held out for her. "Yes, he knew when he took me from Greenhaven. Remember the Egg Festival? How you and Harvey assumed that my parents were dead by what I had said?"

"Yes, it has stuck out in my mind and I have pondered on it. But what of it?"

"Well…my parents, they…they're…the founders of Joja Corporation…" Her voice had dropped considerably at the last words and she looked down at the floor, face burning with her shame.

"Your parents own Joja?!" Elliott half-stepped away from her, eyes wide with shock.

Teagan winced at his reaction. "Yes, my parents own Joja. No, I am not proud of this fact and haven't been since I could comprehend the sheer devastation that they caused to small towns such as Pelican Town. My parents have put a bounty on my head in all JojaMart break rooms and I need to get the one in this town pulled down before anymore people see it."

"And you need our help?" Elliott sounded breathless and his eyes were still wide, but Teagan felt relief that he met her gaze. "Why should we help you?"

"Because I can help keep this town from getting pulled under Joja's control. Please, this disguise, while good, is not foolproof. I need distractions."

She looked between Willy and Elliott, searching their faces for any form of approval. Elliott finally sighed and said, "Where do we start?"

* * *

The three of them stood out in the rain by the market. Elliott had had the sense to grab a large umbrella for them to stand under. Teagan felt her heart flutter in her chest at the idea of having to go into the store.

"Let's go over the plan one last time." Elliott turned to the other two, tossing his hair out of his face. "Willy will go in first and distract Morris as he is the biggest threat. Once Willy has gone in, two minutes later I will go in and distract the cashier, talk to her. Both of them have to be pleasant with customers and can't turn their attention away from us, correct Teagan?"

"Yes, that's right. Company policy clearly states that all customers must receive undivided attention when in the presence of an employee."

"Perfect. Once I've started speaking with the cashier, you'll come in, using closing the umbrella as an excuse to hide your face. You'll go straight for the back up the left hand side of the store, go into the break room, and rip down the posters." Elliott paused. "I feel as if I'm missing a step."

"You are," Willy chimed in. "She has to go into the back room, toss the posters into the trash compactor, cover it with something so no one sees them, and then sneak out the back door. All without getting caught."

"No pressure," Teagan grumbled, resisting the urge to run her hands through her soot covered hair. "At least the disguise worked out fairly well."

They had spent well over an hour getting her disguised, dressing her in Willy's clothes, covering her hair with soot before putting Willy's hat on her head. Elliott had even used the leftover soot to create lines in Teagan's face, making her appear older than she actually was. The only true giveaway as to who she was was her eyes, but there was nothing that could be done except to hide them.

"Good luck you guys," she murmured. "Hopefully we get this done."

"We will Tee. I promise, nothing's going to happen if I have any say-so." Willy tipped his hat to her, giving her a mischievous grin. "See you at the shop."

Willy entered the market, calling out Morris' name as he walked in. Teagan rolled her eyes, but couldn't help a chuckle or two from escaping at his performance. Elliott looked down at Teagan, stepping closer to her.

"I can understand why you'd want to keep this secret. But you know that you will have to tell others in the town soon? This can't stay hidden forever Teagan. Your parents, by the sound of it, will take more advanced measures."

Teagan frowned. "Yes, I know. But I'm still under suspicion with Lewis. If it came out that I was even remotely associated with Joja, let alone my being the offspring of the founders, I would never live it down."

"True. I'm sure you'll find the perfect time to tell people." Elliott glanced at the door. "I suppose it's time to get in there. See you on the other side Teagan."

Elliott strolled into the market now and Teagan crept closer to the door, trying to see what was going on. But the doors slid open as she got too close and Teagan knew that she'd possibly blown her cover.

Quickly, she struggled with the umbrella, dropping her head so no one could see her face. Teagan scurried to the left, continuing to struggle with the umbrella. When she rounded the corner of the shelves out of sight of both the cashier and Morris, she let out a sigh of relief. Phase one of the plan was completed.

Now came phase two, which was the part Teagan was stressed about most. She made a beeline for the breakroom at the back of the store. Teagan was outside of the door when she heard footsteps coming from inside. She froze, pressing herself against the wall as much as she could.

Sam walked out of the room, head bopping up and down to music that Teagan couldn't here. She realized with enormous relief that he had headphones on. He walked past her without even a glance in her direction.

' _Shane wasn't kidding when he said Sam was oblivious,'_ Teagan thought to herself. _'Time to get in there and get this done.'_

Teagan went to open the door, watching in horror as she came face to face with an employee. For a moment, the sheer terror that raced through her mind made her go blank. It finally clicked as to who that employee was when they snapped their finger in front of her face.

"Earth to Teagan, come in Teagan." Shane growled. "Get in there and do whatever it is you're planning to do. I'll guard the door until you're done."

"Thank you, Shane. Looks like I owe you a beer."

"Yeah, you do. Hurry up before I get into trouble."

Teagan stepped past him, heading straight for the giant poster taped to the back of the wall. Her face contorted into a look of disgust as she got closer. They had used a picture of her attending one of the JojaMart company banquets, with her seated in-between her mother and father. In the bottom left corner was a headshot she had taken in the hopes of getting picked up by a talent agent, if only so she could escape her parents. In the bottom right the reward was listed in bold letters.

She tore it off the wall, crumpling it up into a large ball.

Teagan grabbed the other, smaller posters that had been hung up around the room, rolling those up. She exited quickly, giving Shane a parting nod as she headed towards the back room where the trash compactor was. She chucked the posters in, grabbing a few pieces of cardboard to toss on top. The sound of voices coming towards the back caused her to freeze.

"Shane! Shane, you were supposed to be on the floor five minutes ago! Where are you?"

Teagan looked around, trying to find an escape. The fire exit caught her eye and she rushed towards it, slamming into it before turning to shut it. The sound of a fire alarm began to go off and Teagan sprinted around the corner, heading towards the blacksmith.

She could hear shouting and the door whack against the side of the building as whoever had been coming to look for Shane gave chase. Teagan launched herself into a mine cart, tucking herself into it, holding her breath as she heard someone moving around.

"Whoever you are, I will find you and I will- oh never mind. I don't have time for this nonsense." The man grumbled. "First the sailor wastes my time about a membership and now this. Absolutely ridiculous."

He continued to mumble curses and complaints under his breath. Teagan waited a few more minutes before peeking over the edge of the mine cart. There wasn't a soul outside, save Elliott walking back with Willy towards the beach. Teagan hoisted herself out of the cart, opening the umbrella as she walked towards the two men.

"Well, that was fun," she chirped, going to stand between them, handing the umbrella off to Elliott. "I can't believe that actually worked."

"Neither can we. Also, Joja is expensive! Five thousand gold for a membership?" Willy shook his head, lighting his pipe to smoke. "Who on earth would pay that sort of money?"

"You'd be surprised," Teagan replied. "Thank you both so much for your help with this. You have no idea how much it means to me."

"Of course. Anytime Tee." Willy looked at Elliott. "I don't have to tell you not to tell a soul, right?"

"Correct. I would not have agreed to this if I couldn't keep it secret."

"You two are amazing." Teagan took Willy's hat off, handing it to him. "I'm going to head home. I'll wash your clothes and bring them back to you when they're done."

"No rush Teagan. You get home safe now."

"You two as well." She began to walk away when Elliott grabbed her hand. "What is it?"

"Tomorrow will you stop by my place? I'd like to have a discussion with you about events that have transpired."

"Ummm...sure, I think I can manage that. What time?"

"Does eleven work for you?"

"I'll be there at eleven, no problem." Teagan pulled away from him, glancing over her shoulder towards Pierre's. "I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you again for your help."

With that Teagan, headed towards her farm, hands tucked into her pockets. She turned her face up to the sky, smiling at the clouds. Their plan had worked. Thank Yoba.

* * *

Teagan had chopped down several trees when she'd returned to the farm, as well as clearing rocks. There was now a straight path to the pond on her property and a thirty by thirty foot patch of clearing in front of her house.

She'd also figured out how to craft some rudimentary fences for her crops using the sticks and some fiber, as well as a scarecrow using one of her old shirts, a hat, some of the grass and fibers she'd been cutting down. She'd set up the scarecrow at the top of where she'd planted her crops, hoping that it would ward away the crows that she'd seen perched in the trees of her property.

Now she headed back into town, stuffing her pack with the spice berries Linus had shown her. It would make a perfect breakfast with some of the bread from the previous night.

As she walked into the saloon, she could feel tension. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Lewis at a table with a man dressed in a black suit. Teagan knew by the cut of the suit that it was a Joja Representative, no doubt the Morris gentleman Willy had told her of earlier. She stepped up to the bar, giving Shane a nod.

"Looks like you caused quite the stir," Shane commented, sliding onto the stool next to her. "Managed to get Morris out from behind the counter."

"So it seems." Teagan felt her skin flush. "What're you having tonight?"

"Dunno. A beer at least."

She waved Emily over, the woman practically skipping down the length of the bar. "Hey Emily."

"Hi Teagan! Oh and hello Shane! I didn't see you come in."

"It's all good."

"So, what can I get for you two?"

"I'll have a salad and he'll have a beer and a pizza. And that's all on me." Teagan gave the girl a smile before leaning towards her. "How long have Lewis and that guy over there been going at it?"

"Oh, I don't know, an hour at least. It's been getting louder and louder as it goes on." Emily glanced up at them over Teagan's shoulder. "That Morris fellow is upset because someone decided to prank the store by pulling the fire alarm. He's been threatening the Mayor since they started talking."

Teagan winced, casting a glance over her shoulder before turning to Emily. "You want to do myself and Mayor Lewis a favor?"

"Sure! What are you thinking?"

"Willy's in here. I'll buy another beer, you go to take it to Willy, but take it the long way around. You accidentally trip and it ends up all over Morris. That will get rid of him. What do you think Shane?"

"Won't Emily get in trouble?" He asked. "It's a good plan because Morris is a neat freak and prides himself on having never touched alcohol in his life, but I'd hate for you to get in trouble with Gus, Emily."

"Oh Shane, I'm not worried about that. Anything to help Lewis out. You'll pay for the beer Teagan?"

"Yes ma'am, I will."

"Perfect. I'll bring you guys your food and then go and take care of this situation."

Emily walked away and Shane watched her, his cheeks turning pink ever so slightly. Teagan noticed, but said nothing, instead trying to focus on the conversation between the Mayor and Morris.

"Let me tell you _Mayor_ Lewis, I can have this little town of yours bulldozed in a heartbeat if I want. All it takes is a couple of fudged numbers on the memberships, a phone call to headquarters, and there will be two dozen bulldozers sitting in the road." Teagan gritted her teeth, trying to keep her calm as Morris spoke. "And do you know what will be the first thing to go? That precious Community Center of yours. You'll be the pathetic Mayor of a pile of rubble."

"I will find whoever committed this crime against you, I promise Morris. Please...I've already said this repeatedly." Lewis sounded weary as he spoke. "What more could you want?"

Emily set the salad in front of Teagan and the pizza and beer in front of Shane. She gave them both a wink before sauntering off. Teagan turned slightly in her seat so she could see what happened. Emily weaved her way through patrons expertly, stepping past Marnie and heading straight towards Lewis and Morris.

There was a crash and the entire bar went silent. Everyone turned in their seat to see Morris standing next to Lewis, soaked from head to toe with beer. Emily broke the silence, beginning to apologize to him when Morris held up his hand.

"You...how…what is the meaning of this?!"

"It was an accident, I swear!" Teagan had to give Emily some credit for her acting skills. "I tripped over a loose floorboard or something. I'm so sorry, let me get you some napkins to clean up with."

"No! You've already done more than enough!" Morris snapped, stepping towards Emily threateningly.

"Hey, she said she was sorry," Willy growled, getting up from his seat. "And I suggest you leave. Wouldn't want to upset your customer base, would you?"

Morris stammered, looking around the room. Teagan had turned back to her salad, eating it calmly. "I...I'll be leaving now. My sincere apologies miss. Lewis, this conversation is not done."

With that, the Joja manager swept out of the saloon. Teagan set down her fork, going to Emily and Lewis. "Are you alright Emily?"

"I'm perfectly fine." She was grinning from ear. "That was a heck of a plan!"

"Plan? What are you two talking about?" Lewis asked, looking between the two young women.

Teagan quickly explained her idea to Lewis, who began to grin from ear to ear. Lewis held up a hand, stopping Teagan in her tracks. "That's enough. As Mayor, I have to say that was unkind of both of you. But as someone who was tired of being berated, I appreciate what you two have done."

"It's no problem Lewis. Anything for you."

"Yes, what Emily said." Teagan gave the man a small smile. "If he gives you anymore trouble, let me know."

"Teagan?" Lewis called as she began to walk away to go and enjoy her food.

"Yes Mayor?"

"You wouldn't happen to know what happened with the fire alarm at JojaMart today, would you?"

Teagan tried to give the man her sweetest, most innocent face. "No Mayor. I was busy cutting down trees and building fences for my crops."

He stared at her for a minute before sighing. "Alright, thank you Teagan. Go back to your dinner."

Teagan went back to her barstool, Emily and Shane talking to one another. She dug into her salad, smiling to herself.

' _One good day down, a lifetime more to go.'_ Teagan thought as she sat in silence, running over everything that had happened. _'Well, as soon as I get Joja out of her, it will be a good lifetime anyway.'_


	6. Chapter 6: Tour Guide

***Hello lovelies! That chapter got written a lot faster than I expected! It feels so good to have my Muse perched on my shoulder again. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I put a little bit of Elliott in there for some of the Elliott lovers. Also added a bit more backstory to him. I like that I can take some liberties with these characters and build onto them. And yes, the dog is non-canon in this story, but I have a soft spot for the breed in this chapter. As always, reviews are welcome as well as constructive criticism. Thank you guys so much and I will see you in the next chapter!***

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Teagan knocked on Elliott's door, trying to straighten out her poncho hood as she waited for him to answer. It was another stormy day, the rain pouring down, thunder rumbling on occasion as lightning streaked across the dark gray sky. The door swung open, Elliott appearing in the doorway, a smile on his face.

"Hello Teagan! You're a bit early."

"I know, it's a habit. I apologize if it's an inconvenience."

"No, not at all. Go ahead and have a seat on the piano bench. Have you eaten?"

Teagan nodded. "Yes, I had some spice berries and some bread this morning."

"Good. It's important that you keep your strength up. I'm sure, judging by how wet your hair and jeans are, you were out working all day."

"I was. What astute observations Elliott." Teagan crossed her legs, folding her hands in her lap. "Now, you wished to speak with me?"

"Yes, I did. So…" he settled into the chair at his desk, leaning in it with one arm hanging from the back of the chair. "Your parents are the owners of Joja? Phillip and Denise O'Brien?"

Teagan nodded. "I see you've been reading."

"Yes I have. That would make you Alexandria O'Brien then, correct?"

"That's my name on my birth certificate, yes. I choose to go by my middle name though, which is Teagan. That's why I wasn't immediately suspected when arriving here." Teagan felt her face flush. "Look, if you're going to use this information against me, I-"

"I have no intention of using it against you, Teagan. If I was going to do that, I would have done it yesterday. I'm merely trying to get a true image of the enigma that is Alexandria Teagan O'Brien." Elliott gave her a small smile. "You are a mystery and I happen to enjoy those immensely. So, what made you want to leave?"

"I'll tell you if you answer my questions."

"A question for a question seems a fair deal."

"Perfect. I left because I was being smothered. I was trapped by this image that my parents had created for me, a mold that I was not allowed to break out of. I spent years dreaming of the day that I would escape their clutches. I did everything in my power that I could; headshots for talent agents, saving up money by working at a bar where no one knew my name, you name it."

"My parents found out about the headshots and had every talent agent who had reached out to me blacklisted. They also found out about my working at the bar and tried to have the place shut down. Thankfully they did not have that much pull over that area, so instead they attempted to keep me confined to the house."

"How did you escape if they did that?"

"Easily. I learned the codes for the doors from our butler, who hated to see me caged up like a wild animal. Then I snuck into my father's study, took a picture of his planner for the next six months and I took screenshots of my mother's schedule as she'd given me access to it and forgotten that she had." Teagan looked out the window now, remembering her time in Greenhaven. "Everything was scheduled for me. When I ate, what I ate, who I hung out with, where I visited, even what I wore and where I could shop. My classes for school were chosen by them, what I was going to major in. So many choices, all of which were taken from me because I had to be the perfect daughter."

"That...sounds awful if I'm being honest. I don't understand how you managed to tolerate it for so long."

"Because I was waiting for someone like Willy to come along. Someone who was filled with stories and adventures, who was willing to take a chance on me." Teagan looked down at her hands now, her cheeks burning. "I owe Willy my life in more ways than one. He has done so much for me when he didn't have to."

"Willy is a good man. I hate to ask, but is there any risk to him if your parents should find you here?"

Teagan shook her head. "No. I left a note with them stating that I was leaving by my own choice. I also made a photocopy of it and had a witness who will testify that I left of my own accord and was not forced to do so."

"If you left a note, how come they didn't start searching for you sooner?"

"I used their schedules against them and left when they were expected to be out of the country for two seasons scouting out new locations and market opportunities." Teagan looked up at Elliott. "That's three questions from you, so now I get three."

"Right, my apologies. As a writer I've trained myself to question everything to get the entire background." Elliott began to fiddle with the rose next to him. "What do you wish to know?"

"Why are you so against Harvey and doctors in general?"

Elliott froze and he let out a slow breath. "So you noticed."

"I did. You know part of my past, it's only fair I know yours."

The young man turned to Teagan and she was taken aback by the tears in his eyes. "I...had a life before this shack. I tell others that I moved out here for the peace and quiet so I can focus on my novel, but like all people, I have other reasons as well. I fell in love with a woman, as most of us tend to do at our age, and we were going to be married.

"One day, I woke to a thud in the shower of our small apartment. I found the love of my life in the bathtub, unconscious, not breathing, and with no heartbeat. I tried everything in my power to save her, as did the EMTs and the doctors at the hospital. They told me that there was no way that she could pull through, that she'd had a blood clot move from her leg and into her heart, where it proceeded to lodge itself and stop her heart. She was brain dead."

"Oh, Elliott, I'm so sorry," Teagan murmured, feeling her heart grow heavy as she watched the tears roll down his cheeks.

"I despise doctors and hospitals because I feel that they could have done more for her. In my heart I believe they didn't try hard enough, but in my mind I understand that there was nothing that could be done. Unfortunately, our biggest weakness as humans is that we believe what is in our heart over what is in our minds." Elliott dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief. "Its been two years, but I still miss her every day."

"What was her name?"

A ghost of a smile played across Elliott's lips, his brown eyes lighting up for a moment at the thought of her. "It was Mia. Mia Clark. She was beautiful, Teagan. I write her into nearly every novel, but I can never finish."

"What did she look like?"

He broke into a dazzling smile at her memory and Teagan's heart ached for him. "Have you ever used a kaleidoscope? Her eyes were similar. One moment they would be a dark, fierce green, the color of pine needles in the early morning as the sun peeks over the ridge and in the next moment, as if someone had turned them, they would be the color of a glass bottle when the sunlight filters in through a window, catching it just right. And in that bottle there would be flecks of gold and blue, pepperings of her free spirit and kindness shining through."

Teagan smiled softly. "She sounds like the perfect woman."

"She was for me. Her hair was a dark brown, almost black. But if the sun caught it at the right angle, it lit up like wildfire, cascading down her back in silky curls. Freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose and- well, I highly doubt you care about this. It's the ramblings of the heartbroken."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind listening. It seems to make you happy."

"If it's alright with you, I'd prefer to not speak on this anymore. While I enjoy remembering Mia, it makes my heart ache for her." Elliott gave Teagan a smile. "Thank you for listening to me. It means a lot Teagan."

"Please, call me Tee. I tell all of my friends that."

"Alright, as you wish." He rose from his seat. "Well, I think that concludes our questions, correct?"

"Yes, I think it does."

"Do you mind if I walk you home? I'd feel better if I did."

"Actually, I was going to explore the town a bit more. I've yet to go up into the mountain area. Willy told me there's a beautiful lake up there. And I've also never gone where Marnie lives either." Teagan watched as Elliott's shoulders slumped. "But, if you'd like, you can walk me to the bridge."

"That's a good compromise. Give me a moment while I put on a jacket and find my rain hat."

"I'll be outside. There was something that I wanted to look at."

Elliott stopped as he went to grab his coat. "What was it?"

"Just something that I wanted to look at. I won't go far, I promise."

"Alright...be careful please."

"I will." Teagan opened the door, feeling the wind rip at her, her hair flying into her face.

She dipped her head down, trying to fend off the wind, shoving her hair from her face so she could see. The storm had gotten more vicious since she'd been inside. Teagan looked up to see the waves crashing against the sand and her heart skipped a beat. For a moment she thought that she saw someone in the surf who looked eerily similar to her. She blinked and the pale figure was gone, replaced instead by some seaweed that washed up on shore.

Teagan walked at a clipped pace to inspect what had caught her eye as she'd waited for Elliott to answer the door. The water from the river was rushing down towards the ocean in a roar. Teagan thought that she could make out faint traces of an old bridge and it's pillars on her side. She leaned closer to inspect the material.

Her heart leapt to her throat as she lost her balance, pitching forward towards the rushing water. Strong hands caught her by the hips, helping her keep her footing.

She steadied herself before turning to find Elliott, his hands still resting lightly on her hips. "Are you alright Tee?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Lost my balance for a second." She felt her face flush as she looked into Elliott's eyes. "You can let go now if you want."

"I apologize." He lifted his hands, shoving them into his pockets. "That was inappropriate of me to hold you for so long."

"It's fine," Teagan reassured. "You were only trying to keep me from falling in. Believe me, I don't want to end up in the water again."

"What were you looking at?" He asked, looking over her shoulder to see.

"Well, it looks like there once was a bridge here. Do you know what happened to it?"

"Yes, I remember it quite well," he replied, offering her his arm so they could walk to the bridge. "It was the summer of the year I moved here. We had a devastating hurricane roll in. Trees were felled, power was down. Robin even had to put a new roof on the Mayor's house."

"Goodness!"

"Yes, it was quite detrimental to life here. But the damage to the town is beside the point. I was standing at my window, watching the trees bow with the force of the wind, some of them snapping off at the tops, when a rush of water came thundering down from the river. It ripped the bridge away that leads to the more secluded beach and nothing was left but the four studs it sat on."

"Why hasn't anyone fixed it before now?" They were standing in the small alcove between the beach and town, the trees helping cut down the wind and rain considerably.

"Well, to be blunt, there isn't the money or the willing soul to repair it. I overheard Robin speaking with Lewis and she said that it would take about three hundred pieces of wood to fix and she would also charge him 2,500 gold for it."

Teagan let out a low whistle. "That's fairly steep, especially since it sounds like she expected Lewis to come up with the material."

"It is, which is why Lewis never did it." Elliott shook his head sadly. "I was only over there a few times, but it was quite peaceful and the perfect place to swim."

"Hmmmm...well, I'd better be off exploring I suppose. I'll see you around I'm sure."

"Alright, that sounds like a plan. Please be safe while exploring."

"I will," she reassured him. "I have no intention of getting hurt for a long while."

She dipped her head down, walking towards town. Thunder rumbled, but it sounded farther away than it had earlier. Now it was only wind and driving rain that Teagan had to contend with. She was walking up past the clinic when a head with a mop of brown hair popped out of the door.

"Teagan, what are you doing out in the rain?" Harvey called to her. "You'll catch a cold doing that!"

"It's a warm rain and I'm wearing a poncho," she replied, walking towards him to stand under his awning. "What are you doing, window watching?"

Harvey blushed at her words. "No, I was, um, cataloguing medicines and I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Decided to see who it was messing around in the rain."

"Well, it's me. Am I free to go warden?" Teagan teased.

"Yes, but on one condition."

"Oh? What might that be?"

"You walk with me under an umbrella for a bit."

She smiled. "You and your conditions. I don't know how I'll ever manage to agree to those terms of yours."

It was Harvey's turn to grin from ear to ear. "I'll take that as a yes then?"

"Go and grab your umbrella." Teagan laughed as Harvey disappeared into the clinic, whistling an unknown tune. "Such a silly man."

' _Yes, but you find it endearing,'_ she thought to herself, still smiling. _'Especially the way his eyes light up when you tell him yes, the way he blushes when you catch on to his flirtations. The way-'_

"You ready to go?" Harvey asked, stepping outside, closing the door to the clinic behind him.

"Sure. Where are we headed?" Teagan asked, looping her arm through Harvey's when he offered it.

"Well, what haven't you seen?"

"Pretty much everything aside from the town, the beach, and my farm," she confessed, reaching into her rucksack. "I found this map in some of Grandpa's old things. They were in a box in the corner. I thought I'd use it to go exploring."

"That's actually very detailed." He said, leaning in close to her to look at the map. "Why don't we head up to the mountains first? Those are close by. Then we can go explore the land by Marnie's. What time is it?"

"Twelve-thirty," Teagan answered after glancing at her watch. "We should get moving if we're going to explore all this today."

They took the steps together and Teagan looked at the giant building that sat on top of the hill for the first time. She stopped, cocking her head to one side as she inspected the dilapidated building.

"Harvey, what is that?"

"Oh, that? It's the old Community Center. Its sort of fallen into disrepair." Harvey sighed. "There were many fond memories made in that building. Unfortunately there's just no money in the town coffers aside from the necessary income to keep Pelican Town running."

Teagan nodded, making a mental note to return to the old building. "Alright, where to next my informative tour guide?"

Harvey laughed, pulling her a little bit closer to him. "Up the path here. We'll head to the mountain lake. Are you sure that your ribs can handle this much movement?"

"I can live with it, I promise. Come on."

They walked up the path in silence and Teagan was oddly comforted by Harvey's presence. She kept stealing glances at him from the corner of her eye and had to fight the urge to take his hand instead of walking arm in arm.

"So...tomorrow's Friday night," she began, watching his face for a reaction. "It'll be our first, um, date."

"You mean this doesn't count?" Harvey asked as they rounded the top of the hill.

"Well, if you want it to count, I wouldn't mind. I just didn't, uh, oh goodness..."

"It's alright," Harvey reassured her. "Think of me as your humble tour guide today and your date tomorrow."

"No!" Harvey raised an eyebrow at her forceful response. "I mean, no, it's fine. This can count as our unofficial date. A precursor to tomorrow if you will."

"If you're sure?"

"Positive. Let's get going."

"Right. Well, up ahead is Robin's. I'm sure that you've met her and her husband, Demetrius. And of course you know Maru." Teagan nodded her head. "Sebastian also lives there as well. One big happy family. Up on the hill behind them is Linus' camp."

Teagan could catch a glimpse of a yellow tent as they walked past Robin's. They continued down the path and Harvey stopped at the edge of a lake. He seemed to hesitate for a moment and she looked at him curiously.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I just haven't been up here in a long time. Have you been to the mines yet?"

"No, I didn't even know there were mines to be honest. I should have known that there were given that there are minecarts everywhere it seems."

"Come on, we'll go and look around them."

They took a left, Teagan following Harvey's lead. They were stopped in their tracks by a giant pile of rocks and a man kneeling in front of them. The man turned, giving them a smile.

"Hiya folks! Name's Todd. I'm with JojaMart."

"Hello," Harvey replied, putting himself slightly in front of Teagan. "What are you doing up here?"

"Well, it seems that there was a bit of a rockslide, which was potentially caused by JojaMart. So they sent me out to clear the slide. Don't worry, your mines should be accessible in the next day or so. Until then, they've asked me to keep the general public away. Wouldn't want anyone to get hurt now would we?"

"No, we wouldn't," Teagan replied quickly, giving Harvey's arm a tug. "Come on Harvey, let's allow the man to work."

They began to turn away when the man called out to them, "Hey, on another note, have either of you met a girl named Alexandria?"

Teagan tensed at the sound of her name. She turned to face the man, "No, no one has come to Pelican Town by that name."

Todd nodded, leaning on his pickaxe. "That's a shame. Joja's founders are looking for her. That's their daughter and the heir to the Joja Corporation. If you see her, keep her busy and tell your Joja representative. There's a hefty reward for knowledge of her whereabouts."

"We'll keep that in mind." Harvey looked down at Teagan, touching her shoulder. "Are you coming?"

"Yes. Yes, let's go."

The silence was deafening to Teagan and her mind was racing. How many others had that man told? How many more people knew that the heiress of Joja Corporation was missing? How many would look it up online and see her face as the first thing that popped up?

"You alright?" Harvey's voice broke through her racing thoughts and she was touched by the concern in his eyes. "I can walk you home if you'd like."

"No, I'm fine."

Harvey took her hand, his fingers interlacing with hers. "Teagan, you seemed highly upset by what that man said. Are you sure that you're alright?"

She forced a smile, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine. Hey, what's over there?"

She pointed to across the lake at a broken bridge. Teagan could barely make out the other side. To her it looked like some sort of rock quarry, but she couldn't be sure.

"Oh, that? Well, let's head out onto the island to look." He led her across the small plank bridges, holding her hand tight. "Be careful, it's slippery. I'd hate for you to fall in."

Teagan shuddered at that thought, scurrying to the other side. Cold washed over her from head to toe and she began to tremble. Harvey grew alarmed, pulling her closer to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Teagan mumbled, trying to regain control of herself. "I...I just…"

 _The water rips at her, dragging her down to the dark abyss as she struggles out of her jacket. Her head breaks the surface and she lets out a ragged cough, expelling the sea water from her lungs. She watches the brilliant orange life preserver land in front of her and she reaches out, knowing that it is her only salvation. Her fingertips brush against it and-_

"Teagan!" A hand touched her face and she flinched away before realizing that it was Harvey. "Flashback?"

Teagan could only nod, feeling her legs trembling, a cold sweat having broken out on her brow. "I'd like to go home."

"Let's go then. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. It's my fault."

"No it's not. My brain is the one that's broken, not yours."

"But if I'd thought about what I was saying you wouldn't have-"

"Harvey." Teagan stopped his stream of apologies, finding a bit of strength in her. "It is not your fault that I'm having flashbacks. You shouldn't have to censor yourself constantly in order to make me comfortable."

"I know, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"You're not," Teagan reassured, gripping his hand tight as they crossed the bridge once more. The rain had let up from it's torrential downpour and now was a light drizzle. "In fact, you're making me feel very comfortable."

Harvey broke into a smile, his entire face lighting up at her words. "I...I'm glad I could help."

They walked up past Robin's and took a left down another path. Teagan looked down the cliff past the trees and could see the roof of her house. She made a mental note of it, having not realized that there were multiple entrances to her farm.

They entered the farm and she was immediately confronted with a wall of trees. She looked to Harvey apologetically. "I didn't realize that this was back here. I'll clear it out for us."

Before he could protest, she pulled her axe off her back, making quick work of some of the smaller saplings. She alternated between the pick and the axe until a small path had been cleared to where she could see her garden.

"There! That should do it." Teagan turned to Harvey slightly breathless. "If I'd known this was here I would have cleared it sooner."

"It's definitely much more overgrown than it once was," Harvey commented, following Teagan, trying to keep the umbrella over both of them. "I remember when this entire place was cleared. The only thing that you could see were the crops and the barn at the south end of the property. Oh and the greenhouse."

"Greenhouse?" Teagan examined her crops to see how they were growing as she spoke to Harvey. "I didn't realize there was a greenhouse on the property."

"I doubt it's here now. Grandpa said that it took a lot to keep up. I'm sure it's in ruins."

"Hmmm...I'll add that to the list of things that I need to look for when clearing the property." Teagan took the steps up to her house two at a time, looking back at Harvey. "Do you drink tea? Or I have coffee if you'd like. We've still got some time before it gets dark."

"Coffee sounds wonderful." Harvey answered, collapsing his umbrella, following Teagan inside. "Wow, you've done a lot with this place!"

"Thank you. I've been working hard at getting it cleaned up and organized the way I'd like." Teagan grabbed some of the instant coffee packets from the cabinet of the television stand. "It's still going to take some work and I'm adding onto it once I have the money. I'd love a kitchen. Working with a microwave and bottled water for tea or coffee is not the same."

"I agree." Harvey sat down at the table, looking around in awe at the house. "It looks wonderful. I can tell you've worked really hard at getting things straight."

She glanced over her shoulder, smiling. "You're very kind. It has been hard work, but I've enjoyed it. I never thought that I would be good working with my hands, but I'm enjoying it. Minus the blisters."

Harvey was in front of her surprisingly quick. He took her hands, uncurling them to expose the palms. "Those look quite painful. Here, let me bandage them. I can't believe I didn't notice them before."

"It's fine, really." Teagan said, trying to divert his attention from them. "They barely hurt."

"The one on your left hand is swollen. At least let me drain the fluid and bandage it. Please." Teagan found herself entranced by Harvey's pleading gaze. "I only want to help."

"Oh fine. But let me put your coffee into the microwave at least." She opened the door of the microwave, setting the coffee mug inside before powering it on for a minute-thirty. "Alright, let's get this done."

"Do you have bandages?"

Teagan nodded to the cabinet where she'd gotten the coffee from. "I've got some gauze and some Vaseline in there. Will that work?"

"That's perfect. You sit at the table, I'll grab the bandages." When Teagan didn't move, he sighed. "Please?"

"Alright, fine. I think you're making a much bigger fuss of this than you need to." She glanced at her watch, showing that it was only three thirty in the afternoon. "I can deal with a little bit of pain."

"I'm sure," he replied, turning around with the gauze in one hand, the Vaseline in another. "Compared to your ribs or your hand injury, this must be child's play. But you don't need it to get infected."

"Yes Doctor," she said playfully, watching as he set the supplies down on the table in front of her. "It's only a few blisters Harvey."

"I know. But...I suppose I don't like the idea of you being in pain. Of anyone being in pain really." Harvey grabbed his coffee from the microwave, returning to the table to sit next to Teagan. "While this cools, I'm going to bandage you up. Let me see your hands."

She rolled her eyes, but placed her hands on the table palm up to Harvey. He took them, inspecting the blisters, running his thumb over them. He frowned, pulling his glasses down a bit off of his nose, peering over them.

"Nearsighted?" He seemed confused so Teagan nodded towards his glasses. "You're nearsighted I take it?"

"Oh! Yes, I am. I have been since I was a teenager." He produced a sewing needle from his pocket. "This is going to sting a little."

"It's fine." She only winced as Harvey poked the blister, squeezing the liquid out of it. "You don't seem too concerned about pathogens for being a doctor."

"May I be honest with you and you not get upset?"

"Sure, I won't be upset. Honesty is always the best policy in my book." Teagan watched as he wiped her hand, surprised at how gentle he was.

"Well, when you arrived in my clinic after your accident and you weren't breathing I had no time for any of my usual precautions. So I ended up performing mouth-to-mouth with no guard. I had myself tested, so I know you don't have any diseases or anything."

"You risked your own life and health to help a stranger. Why?"

"Well, I took an oath."

"No, if it was only the oath you would have waited to find a bag or gotten a face shield." Teagan looked up at him to see his reaction. "Honesty, remember?"

"Willy was distraught, as was Elliott. You are a young, healthy female who has an entire life ahead of you." He had stopped bandaging her hand, instead meeting her gaze. "You deserved a chance at life and if I had waited or hesitated, you would have died and I never…"

"You never what?" Teagan murmured, dimly realizing that they had been inching closer and closer to each other during the conversation.

"Well, I never would have gotten to meet you if you'd died." Harvey blushed, leaning in closer so that their faces were only inches apart. "I'm not good at being romantic. In fact I'm kind of clueless. But…I like you Teagan."

She smiled, taking his hand. "I like you too Harvey. I-"

A knock came at her door, causing the two of them to spring apart. Teagan got up from the table, opening the door to find Marnie standing outside. Before she could greet the woman, a very large dog bounded inside, knocking Teagan to the ground. She let out a grunt of pain as she fell to the floor, trying to prevent the dog from licking her face.

"Teagan!" Harvey began to approach only to be knocked down himself by the dog. "No, stop it! Get off me!"

Teagan shot to her feet, rising up to her full height. The dog paused in its slimey onslaught, turning to look at her.

"Sit!" She commanded, raising her hand, watching in amazement as the dog actually obeyed.

Marnie was helping Harvey to his feet, who was straightening his glasses and brushing off the front of his shirt. "I am so sorry you two. I knew she was a little excitable, but I didn't think she'd bulldoze you!"

"Is this one of your pups Marnie?" Teagan asked, giving the german shepherd a good scratch behind the ears.

"No. I found the poor thing out in my cow pasture this morning, trying to sleep under the awning to keep dry. I brought her inside, got her cleaned up a bit. I don't have the room for a dog at my place at the moment, but I knew that you'd recently moved in. Thought maybe you could use a dog for protection."

"Well, that's very sweet of you, but-" Teagan paused, watching as the dog looked up at her with golden-brown eyes, tail wagging, tongue lolling out of its mouth. "I...guess I could use a dog."

"Wonderful!" Marnie squealed, clasping her hands together. "Oh I'm so happy that she found a good home. You'll bring her by for a visit won't you?"

"Of course I will, once she gets used to being around me."

"Perfect. Well, I'm sorry if I interrupted something between you two."

"Oh, just a house call Marnie," Harvey said, giving the woman a smile. "Nothing too important."

"I'm sorry for interrupting then. I hope you feel better Teagan!" With that, the woman left, leaving Teagan and Harvey to stand there in her house.

"That was...different." Teagan finished lamely. "Looks like I have a dog now."

"Yep, so it seems." Harvey motioned for her to sit down. "Let me finish bandaging your hand and then I'll be on my way. I shouldn't have kept you so long."

"Sure, of course."

He finished fixing up her hand, the dog sitting next to her the entire time, staring up at her with its head in her lap. Teagan smiled at it, watching as its tail wagged back and forth, thumping against the hardwood floors.

"What should I name her?" She asked Harvey as he wrapped the gauze around her hand.

"Who? Oh, the dog. Not sure, I never had a dog. My sister was allergic to animals, so we never had any pets growing up." Harvey looked down at the dog, frowning. "Rain? Lightning?"

"What about Luna?"

"Luna is a lovely name." The dog's tail began to wag faster in response. "It seems like she agrees."

Teagan laughed. "Luna it is then."

"It looks like that's it. Your hand's all fixed." Harvey stood up, fixing his glasses. "Are you still willing to meet me down at the saloon tomorrow night?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

He gave her a smile and her heart fluttered. "I'll see you then. Be careful."

"You as well."

Harvey left, leaving her and Luna standing in the house. She looked down at the dog, shaking her head. "So, what tricks do you know and how did you get here?"

The dog barked, wagging its tail in response. Teagan spent the next couple of hours running through all of the tricks that she knew. She glanced at her watch, realizing that there wasn't enough time to get to Pierre's and go get some dog food. She ended up feeding Luna half of her bread, consuming the other half for herself.

Teagan sat down at the table, watching as the dog curled up on her bed. She didn't have the heart to scold the dog and instead let her sleep as she wrote in her journal.

 _Summer, Thursday, Day 4_

 _Today I got a lot of work done on the farm. I got some more trees chopped down so that I have a more direct path to the pond. My plants seem to be doing fairly well despite the rain. Already they're growing up. Some of them even look ready to bloom and produce. I don't know what's in this soil, but there's something that's for sure._

 _I swung by Elliott's this morning. Ended up showing up earlier than he was expecting, but we spoke. He asked about my past with my parents and I told him the bare minimum of information. He seemed satisfied with my answers and then I asked him about his story, since it seemed only fair. He mentioned a Mia Clark from his past. He seemed to really love the girl and even cried in front of me when speaking about her._

 _Maybe one day I'll find a love like that…_

 _After we spoke, I inspected what appeared to be a broken bridge. Elliott confirmed my suspicions, informing me that it had been quoted at 300 pieces of wood. I think I'm going to make this my first major goal for restoring this town. If I can establish that this town is fully functioning then perhaps I can turn Joja away from it, at least for a bit._

 _Elliott walked me to the bridge and he seemed a bit...off when he did. That's the only way that I can describe it. His gaze lingered on my face for a bit longer than it has in the past and I could tell that he wanted to say something, but held back. Maybe I'll ask him about it the next time I go to see Willy._

 _Then, as I was going to explore the town, Harvey saw me. We walked for a while, talking and learning about one another. We met a Joja representative, clearing out the remnants of a rock slide that was blocking the path to the mines. He had mentioned the bounty on me, but I managed to pull Harvey away before the questioning could continue._

 _I also had a flashback. That wasn't pleasant at all. I wish these dreams and flashes would stop. I used to enjoy the rain, but now it causes me anxiety. Of course I deal with it as needed, but I hate the control it has over me._

 _On a happy note, Harvey confessed to me that he liked me. And I may have mentioned the same to him. I never noticed it before today, but his eyes aren't only brown. They're hazel. I saw it when he was reassuring me in the storm. They have brown in them, but there is also a golden tint to them with hints of green. I'm no writer of course, so I can't describe them as eloquently as Elliott can. But they're captivating to say the least._

 _Other than that, I think- Oh! Marnie stopped by while Harvey was over and she brought a dog. I've decided to name her Luna. She's a german shepherd, seems to be on the young side, but she knows basic commands like sit, stay, roll over, and shake._

 _Well, that's everything. Goals so far are:_

 _Repair the bridge leading to the secluded beach_

 _Get dog food for Luna first thing tomorrow_

 _Learn more about the Community Center that Harvey mentioned_

 _Go on my first date with Harvey_

Teagan closed the journal, going to her calendar, marking all of her goals on it. She smiled to herself, knowing that it was only a matter of time before she got the ball rolling. She now had milestones to hit and nothing would derail her from completing them.


End file.
